


A Niam Story

by CrushingOnLarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 09:21:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19082128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrushingOnLarry/pseuds/CrushingOnLarry
Summary: **a spin-off of A Cinderella Story**Niall Horan isn't popular in high school. After his father's death and not having a will left to him, his evil stepmum Caroline gets everything that his father left behind and makes Niall do everything at his dad's restaurant. He gets bullied by the populars but mainly by Cher Lloyd, a very wealthy, spoiled person.Liam Payne and Niall interact with each other through emails and text messages not knowing who each other is in the school. They decide to meet at the school dance on the dance floor at 11 o'clock but their time together gets interrupted when Niall has to race back to Nando's.His best friend, Louis, has his own problems: being in love with Niall's step-brother, Harry Styles. He goes out to the dance in costume and Harry falls instantly. Louis leaves with Niall after to rush back to Nando's but how is Louis supposed to tell Harry that it was him . . . or worse: how does he tell Niall?As Niall is running out, he leaves his cell phone behind and Liam finds it and picks it up. Liam tries to find out who Prince Charming is and Niall is afraid to reveal himself.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Literally this is the first fanfic I had ever written and most of it is absolute shit, but it was still worth posting because the original A Cinderella Story is amazing and you can't tell me otherwise. Enjoy. . . I hope.

 

 

Once upon a time, in an Irish country, lived a handsome little boy, and his widowed father. Actually, it wasn’t very long ago but it was in fact an Irish country; the city was Mullingar.

He was his dad’s best friend, and his dad was his; they were inseparable. His mum had passed away back when he was only a little baby so it was only the two of them. They were happy and the dad raised him well while he was young.

The dad owned the coolest restaurant, the little boy loved hanging out there and eating their food. At Nando’s, everyone felt like family. They all knew who the little boy was and the chef would even slip him some extra chicken without his dad noticing.

Everything in life was great! But unfortunately, the dad thought his son was missing one thing in his life: a mum. He met Caroline one day - a complete accident of who tripped onto whom - and the rest was history.

Not only was it just a stepmum, but two stepbrothers as well; Harry and Zayn. They were the same age as the dad’s son was but Zayn always complained he was the oldest out of them. Zayn and Harry were twins - fraternal twins, they couldn’t look more different from each other. Also, they were British; Caroline coming from England and not Ireland.

“You’re going to accomplish great things Niall,” his dad told him one night.

Niall was only around seven back then and his dad was talking to him a bit before bedtime. Niall was all tucked up in my cozy bed and his dad was sitting beside him.

“Like what daddy?” Niall asked curiously, looking up at his father.

“Well,” the dad thought for a moment before smiling down at him. “You know how you always sing randomly? Your voice will just get better and better Niall. You would be an awesome singer once you’re older.”

“And where would I go to become one?” Niall asked, still confused.

“X Factor,” he smiled, patting the little boy’s head softly.

“But what if I’m not good enough for it,” Niall sighed, looking down at the covers.

“Hey hey,” his dad said, lifting Niall’s chin up with his finger. “You will be good enough for it Niall. Remember, you can do anything you want-“

“if you set your mind to it,” he grinned, finishing his dad’s famous quote he always said.

“Never forget that, or this,” he said, pointing to a picture frame.

Niall smiled as he admired it from the night table. It was only a few months ago but it was the best picture they took. The dad was leaning over and Niall was on his back, trying not to fall off. They were both smiling and laughing; it was truly something Niall would remember forever.

“I won’t da-“

“EARTHQUAKE!”

Caroline kept shouting the same thing over and over again, screaming her lungs off.

“HELP BOBBY, HELP!”

His dad turned to Niall and sighed. “I’ll be right back Niall.”

“Don’t go,” he frowned, scared himself.

The dad sighed and ruffled Niall’s brownish hair before getting up. The little boy held his out, trying to keep his dad into his grasp. Niall’s little hands were no match for his dad’s and his father walked away.

He turned back before leaving Niall’s room and smiled at him. “You are destined for great things Niall. I’ll see you in the morning, go to sleep.”

Niall lost his dad and his best friend that day. Since his dad didn’t leave a will or anything, Niall’s stepmum got everything. She got the house, the restaurant and apparently to her; she got Niall as well.


	2. Chapter One

“Niall…”

“Nialllllllll…”

“NIALL!”

Niall jumped around as he pulled up his pants and quickly ran a hand through his blond hair.

“Where is my breakfast?!” Caroline complained.

Niall walked out of his room and went to the kitchen, picking up her tray of food she made him make every morning for her. He brought it outside and put it down on the table in front of her.

“Move it boy,” she huffed. “You’re blocking my view.”

He moved away and noticed that she was looking at Harry and Zayn. Niall grinned as he watched them himself; loving to see them every time in the morning just because it brought a big smile on his face.

Caroline was convinced that the boys were destined to be dancers when really they couldn’t dance for shit. They were horrible – but that didn’t stop her from hiring a personal trainer for them and everything.

The two boys had to go through that torture every morning for a good half hour to try and “help” with their “dancing skills”. Niall’s great grandma could probably do better than them any day.

“What are you doing?” Caroline asked rudely as she swallowed some of her food. “You have to get to work.”

“But I have a Maths quiz this morning,” Niall protested, biting down on his bottom lip.

“And you’ve got some tables to collect orders from, now go!” She rolled her eyes, eating more of her food.

Niall sighed and couldn’t help but do the same thing as he always did; he followed Caroline’s orders.

\- - -

Paul was at the restaurant, getting people’s orders and making sure everything was in place. Truth be told, Paul hated what Caroline had done with the place after Bobby had passed away.

She covered up the quaint wallpaper and turned it into some spunky red colour. The old wallpaper was much better and made Nando’s seem like such a happy place; a place where families ate together and everyone was happy.

There were quotes on the wallpaper but Caroline changed everything up after she took over. Nando’s wasn’t the same after that and everyone knew it. Paul absolutely hated working at Nando’s because of Caroline but there was one reason he stayed; Niall.

Niall was ringing up an order when Paul spotted him. Paul walked over and frowned. “What are you doing here Ni?”

“Just ringing this up,” Niall replied, still looking down at his work.

“You’re going to be late for school and don’t you have that Maths test today?” Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll get there soon enough,” Niall added, still not even halfway done.

Paul took it from Niall and the boy’s blue eyes looked up, shocked.

“Wha-“

“Go to school now, I’ll take care of the rest. Just go,” Paul said.

Niall grinned and hugged Paul tightly, yelling out a “Thanks Paul” before running down over to Louis’ house. Niall said hello to the twins before Louis finally came out.

He was wearing a green shirt with some black pants and a red beanie over his brownish-caramel-coloured hair. Niall raised his eyebrows and chuckled a bit, making Louis give him a glare.

“Nice style Lou,” he added, chuckling even louder.

“Oh come off it,” Louis groaned, walking over to the orange van.

Louis hated his car and wanted a new one; hating to park into the school with that huge monstrosity but his mom wouldn’t let him get a new one. Louis kept on begging but nothing ever changed for that. Niall had a car but Caroline had grounded him from it for not cooking her eggs right one morning.

Louis was also British; there were actually quite a few British people around town. Probably one third of the school were British.

The boys drove to school and Louis looked around for a parking spot. He saw one and grinned, excited to finally get a parking spot near the entrance of the school. A pink car drove into the parking space quicker, leaving Louis and Niall there, sighing and staring at the people coming out of the car.

Glorious Cher Lloyd and her little servants who actually consider themselves “friends”. Cher was the queen bee of the school and most guys were drop-dead in love with her.

“Cher wants me,” Louis sighed and smiled bashfully in her direction.

“You’ve never even talked to her lad,” Niall bursts out laughing.

“In my dreams yeah I have and in the dreams, it’s the best dates we ever have,” Louis continued.

Niall rolled his eyes, looking for another spot. “You could do so much better than a girl like Cher, stop dreaming about her. Look, there’s another spot over there.”

The spot was right beside Cher’s car and they were just about to drive into it when a grey car drove in. Liam and his friends drove into there, leaving Louis and Niall trying to find yet another parking space.

“Of course, boyfriend parks beside the girlfriend,” Louis muttered under his breath.

“Hey Nando’s boy, are you just going to stand there and be a creep?” Cher asked and laughed.

Niall rolled his eyes and looked away, his cheeks turning slightly pink. Louis went around the parking lot and found a rather far spot. They parked and sighed, waiting for the school day to end when it hadn’t even begun yet.

\- - -

“Move,” Zayn announced, walking through the people followed by Harry.

Zayn and Harry kept pushing through people and they finally saw Cher with her posse. They ran over and grinned at her and her friends.

“Cher-bear,” Harry said.

Cher faked a smiled and replied, “Hey Zayn, Harry…”

“Well we’ll see you at lunch,” Zayn smiled  and waved goodbye before having to drag Harry away.

Cher rolled her eyes and turned to her friends, “And  _why_  do we put up with them almost every day?”

“You never know when they might come in handy,” one of her friends replied.

Cher smirked, and with that; she continued walking around as if she owned the school – which she sort of did.

\- - -

“Oh god oh god why does he do this torture to himself?” Niall cringed, digging his nails into Louis’ shoulder.

Olly Murs walked over to Cher and smiled. “Greetings Cher, you look stunning, as usual.”

Cher put on her usual fake smile and said, “Thanks Olly.”

Olly returned the smile. “Now if you don’t mind, the galaxy needs me. Poofla, Went, can you hear me? Olly here.”

Olly walked away with his weird satellite headphones covered over his ears. Niall stopped cringing and sighed of relief; glad the torture was over.

“Poor guy doesn’t even know he’s a freak,” Louis sighed.

“Well at least he’s happy,” Niall shrugged.

“Happy? He practically lives in another world Ni!”

Niall watched as Olly practically bumped into a garbage can because he was paying too much attention to who was speaking into the earphones. Niall sighed and added, “Sometimes fantasy is better than reality Louis … speaking of fantasy.” Niall took his phone out.

Louis sighed and nodded. “Ah, the secret admirer awaits. Of course.”

“I’ll see you later Lou,” Niall smiled and walked away.

Niall had a good twenty minutes before class every day since they arrived early and every day he always did the same thing: he went to the fountain and texted his secret admirer. The only few things he knew about his secret admirer was: it’s a he, he’s British and he wants to try out for the X Factor as well.

Yes, Niall Horan was gay. He had figured this out a long time ago and once Louis and Niall even tried a snog or two … it didn’t work out.

Louis was gay as well, but he only had eyes for one guy; Harry. Yes, Harry as in Niall’s stepbrother. Awful, isn’t it? Worst part is, Louis never told Niall so Niall doesn’t even know that his best friend is in love with his stepbrother.

The I-love-Cher sob-fest was only a cover up so Niall wouldn’t figure out his act. It was tough hiding those feelings from Harry and his best friend. The worst part was definitely that Harry didn’t even notice Louis whatsoever.

But Louis planned on making that change sooner or later. Apparently he heard Harry might be gay but rumours were hard to tell which were real and which were fake. Louis was going to find out on the night of the dance; people got to dress up so it was the perfect place. What could go wrong?

\- - -

 **Anonymous:**  Where have you been? It feels like we haven’t talked in ages.

Niall grinned and sighed softly, doing a dance with his thumbs over the keypad before replying.

 **Unknown:** We just talked this morning before classes started.

 **Anonymous:** I can’t stop thinking about you.

 **Unknown:** Me neither, about you that is. Not me, lol.

 **Anonymous:** I want to hear your laugh in real life. When can I finally meet you?

Niall bit his lip and stared at the cell phone screen. His heart pounded as he read that and it made the blond smile like crazy.

 **Unknown:** Soon.

 **Anonymous:** How’s your day so far?

 **Unknown:** Ugh don’t get me started, awful as usual. Some kids feel as if they own the school.

 **Anonymous:** Ever feel like you don’t belong?

Niall raised his eyebrows as he got that text. His heartbeat sped up and his cheeks flushed, how could Anonymous know how he felt deep inside? There was truly something magical about this guy.

 **Unknown:** All the time.

 **Anonymous:** I could be surrounded by a bunch of people and still feel all alone.

 **Anonymous:** Then I think of you…

 **Unknown:** Hey, think we’ve ever met before?

 **Anonymous:** Considering how many people are in our school? Hard to tell.

 **Unknown:** At least I know you’re not a girl. You’re not a girl … right?

 **Anonymous:** Nope, you’re not one either are you mate?

 **Unknown:** Nope. Have you told your dad about X Factor yet?

The boys shared another thing in common; they both planned on going to X Factor at some point. Apparently Anonymous had already tried two years ago and got to the judge’s house but Simon told him he wasn’t ready enough and to go back home and be back in two years.

It was two years later and both boys were sixteen and feeling ready as ever.

Niall hadn’t watched X Factor ever since his dad had died because his stepmum Caroline wouldn’t let him. She said it was a waste of time and there was no point in watching it since Niall would never have a future in that.

 **Anonymous:** Nope not yet. I haven’t even told him I want to be a singer.

 **Unknown:** My dad always wanted me to go there.

 **Anonymous:** Not mine, he has his own plan for my life.

 **Unknown:** Well, I think we’ve broken our record. 1 AM.

 **Anonymous:** We should sleep then.

 **Anonymous:**  WAIT!

Niall stopped and stared at the computer screen in his room, super tired. He rubbed his eyes and waited while Anonymous typed their message.

 **Anonymous:**  Please meet me at the dance. I need to meet you. I’ll be waiting at 11:00 PM in the middle of the dance floor. Be there.

 **Unknown:** Goodnight.

Niall shut his laptop and trudged into bed, his eyes practically already drooping. He fell asleep with a smile on his face that night. He was finally going to meet Anonymous.


	3. Chapter Two

 

“You’re finally going to be able to meet him,” Louis grinned at Niall the next day.

Niall and Louis were in the rehearsals room by the school. Niall was practicing on his voice and trying to help it improve for X Factor but Louis was more concerned about Niall meeting the boy and wanted to talk about it.

“I don’t know, he sounds a little bit too good to be true,” Niall sighed, wondering if it was just someone faking it maybe.

“Well you’ll find out now won’t you? Plus it’s not often you meet someone on the X Factor chat on their site,” Louis replied.

That’s how Niall and the Anonymous had met. X Factor was trying a new chat thing but it got shut done not even a month later because no one was really using it. Niall and the Anonymous kept in touch ever since though and they were one of the only few people who actually stayed in touch. Some may call it fate, Niall called it a coincidence.

“But what if I meet him at the dance and I’m not what he expects? What if he sees me and realizes he’s not gay? Maybe I shouldn’t go and this should stay via internet,” Niall groaned, running his fingers through his blond hair, freaking out.

“No Niall you  _have_  to go to that dance, it’s not an option,” Louis argued.

“But–”

“I’ll even be your escort. Ni, you’re not finding a way to get out of this,” Louis said, looking straight into Niall’s eyes.

Niall grinned and hugged Louis tightly, happy to have such an amazing friend. Louis sighed and hugged back, happy to help out his friend whenever he could. He just hoped Niall wouldn’t be mad once he found out who Louis liked.

Niall’s phone rang so the boys stopped hugging and Niall picked up his phone, answering on the second ring.

“Hello Niall?” Caroline’s annoying voice spoke into the phone, causing Niall to make a face. “Someone ate all my cake. I need you to go to the store and get a new one, and pick up my dry cleaning. And wash the car as well.”

“Okay I’ll be home soon,” Niall sighed and hung up.

“Why do you act like her slave Ni?” Louis groaned, hating seeing his friend hurt like this and being used.

“Costs money to just get into the auditions for X Factor you know,” Niall sighed.

Both boys walked out and someone yelled “WATCH OUT” as a football came flying towards them. Louis fell onto the ground and shrieked like a little girl but Niall saw the black-and-white ball approaching and smirked; eyeing it.

Just as it was about to hit, Niall jumped in the air and kicked it hard with his head, bouncing it back to which ever direction it came in.

“BE MORE CAREFUL NEXT TIME,” Niall shouted out and helped his friend Louis up, getting ready to take care of Caroline’s nasty chores just like every other day.

\- - -

The football came flying back to Liam and his friends. They were shocked to hear the person who kicked it yell out, “BE MORE CAREFUL NEXT TIME!”

“That was impressive,” Liam admitted, nodding his head of approval.

“So what are you and Cher going as to the dance mate?” his friend, Andy asked him.

“I don’t know if I’m going with Cher,”  Liam shrugged, acting as if it was no big deal and that they hadn’t been going out for a good year or so.

“Well who else would you go with?” Andy asked, confused.

“I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure it out myself,” Liam muttered, throwing the ball to Andy.

\- - -

Geoff was working at his business. The business and house were right beside each other so it was pretty convenient for him.

Liam went up to his room and found his dad already in there. Liam was taken aback and his dad turned to him with a confused expression on his face.

“What’s with all the college brochures Liam?” he asked in a very serious tone.

“Just keeping my options open…,” Liam shrugged.

“But you know your future already,” Geoff argued. “You’re going to go to UND football and graduate, then you’ll be managing this business with me. Don’t mess with the plan son.”

Liam sighed and nodded, avoiding his dad’s eyes. And Liam was supposed to tell his dad he wanted to become a singer,  _how_? It was impossible to even explain and his dad didn’t believe in “X Factor” and “American Idol” or any of that rubbish.

“There’s a customer, go,” Geoff said to his son.

Liam nodded and walked off. He walked up to a blue car and looked up from his notepad, inspecting the car.

“Looks like you need a wax,” Liam said, nodding off at the notepad.

“Excuse me?” Niall asked, rather shocked.

“Oh, I meant the car,” Liam looked up and his eyes locked on those clear crystal blue eyes he always saw at school or at Nando’s.

It was Niall Horan; the blond Irish guy. Liam’s girlfriend would always make fun of him and Louis for God-knows why. Liam held his gaze one second longer than usual and then looked down.

“Oh,” Niall replied, still eyeing Liam.

While Liam was writing it down on the notepad, his muscles were flexing and showing off. Liam was just a few months older than Niall but he was very fit for his age. He only had one kidney so health was very important to him and not something to joke around about.

Also, Liam was on the football team at school. He was probably the star athlete of the whole team and rumour had it that he was supposed to go University of Notre Dame (UND) football.

“Liam,” Harry called out from behind.

“We need our cars washed,” Zayn added, smiling a bit.

“Yeah look, dirt all over” Harry exclaimed.

“One second gentlemen,” Liam said before turning back to Niall.

“Here you go, take this after you’re done,” he said and gave the piece of paper to Niall.

Niall nodded and mumbled a thanks before driving to go get his car waxed. Liam turned to the boys and – whoa! The cars were really dirty; it looked as if they were rolled in mud – Harry’s was worse than Zayn’s.

Liam had to go take care of something first so he told the twins he’d be right back. Niall had dropped off the car and went over to the two boys.

“What the hell did you manage to do to make your car so dirty?” Niall asked.

“What are you? An inspector now?” Zayn scoffed.

“Yeah, lay off,” Harry added, trying to sound just as cool but failing miserably.

Niall had some sort of suspicion that Harry had a little man-crush on Liam which was sort of normal. Liam was pretty good looking, even Niall could admit that. He was actually the only really good looking one that Niall could admit he also had a few dreams about in the past.

Niall still wasn’t sure if Harry was gay or he just liked to fool around but there was something different about Harry – something Zayn didn’t have. Zayn was more the one who wanted to be Liam’s friend and maybe steal some tricks on how-to-look-good or something. But Harry, Harry would always flirt with Liam or compliment him, sometimes right in front of Cher!

“Mom’s looking for you anyways,” Zayn said, huffing and crossing his arms dramatically.

Niall rolled his eyes and turned away, muttering under his breath “drama queen”.

\- - -

“Zayn said you were looking for me?” Niall said, putting away the groceries and putting the dry cleaning down.

“You need to go over to the restaurant and take the night shift,” Caroline told Niall.

The blond’s mouth dropped open and his heart sped up quickly. No that couldn’t happen, it was the dance that night! He couldn’t go to work and miss seeing Anonymous at 11….

“But tonight’s my night off and–”

“For once can you stop being so self-centered boy?! You need to go to the restaurant and mop the floors tonight,” she said, walking over to the tanning bed.

Niall had no choice but to follow, he couldn’t give up the fight just yet. He had to continue fighting for his justice even if it might get him in trouble.

“But I need to be at this dance tonight Caroline,” Niall said, trying not to get sad or angry.

“Do you want your money for your stupid Flex Factor?” Caroline demanded, her voice raising. “You need to  _earn_ that money sweet innocent Niall. Money doesn’t just grow out of trees, this is the real world, and the real world needs you to work tonight!”

“I’ve never asked you for anything before but let me have this one thing: please let me go to the dance,” Niall said, sounding desperate.

He didn’t care if he sounded pathetic or what not, he just needed to be at that dance that night – there was no way he intended to miss it.

Caroline sighed and sat down on the tanning bed, getting her goggles ready. She motioned for Niall to come closer and Niall took a few measly steps towards her.

“You’re old enough to hear this now,” she sighed and looked into Niall’s eyes. “You’re not hot or handsome Niall, and you’re not very bright either…”

Niall looked down at the ground, heat rising into his cheeks and turning them a deep shade of red. Caroline grinned and added, “So glad we could have this talk. Come on, I’ll drive you to the restaurant.”

\- - -

Paul saw Caroline walking into Nando’s and he groaned, turning into a different direction right away. He got a headache just looking at the woman, literally.

“I’ll be picking up Zayn and Harry at the dance, I will be back by 12 sharp,” Caroline told Niall.

He nodded miserably and Paul could tell something was up. Paul knew he had to do something so he walked over and stood up for Niall.

“Still trying to get your monkeys to dance?” Paul asked.

“Still eating too much of this food, Paul?” Caroline smirked right back.

“So what are you dressed up as for Halloween? A gorilla? Because I’m loving the new unibrow,” Paul shot back.

Caroline got very angry and growled. “I can fire you right now.”

“Go ahead,” Paul laughed. “See who will actually show up once you fire me, my co-workers leave with me, no matter what. They told me.”

Caroline turned away and stalked out, not being being able to come up with a reply. Paul smirked and turned to Niall who seemed very upset. He frowned and rested a hand on the blond’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong lad?” he asked.

“Niall can you cover that back table please. I’m desperate,” another co-worker asked Niall.

He nodded and walked over with a notepad in his hand. Just as he was a few feet away, he noticed it was Liam, Cher and both of their groups of friends. Shit.

\- - -

Cher was looking through the menu and grimacing at practically every meal possible. Everything there was too fatty for her or had too much chicken involved.

Niall walked over and Cher spotted him instantly. She smirked and said once he arrived, “Well if it isn’t Nando’s boy.”

Niall made no reply to that. He simply said, “What can I get you guys today?”

“What can I get at this carb-factory that has no sugar, no carbs and is fat-free?” Cher asked, looking up from the menu.

“Water,” Niall replied monotonously.

Cher grimaced at him while Liam’s friends burst out laughing. They shut up after a few seconds and all told Niall what they want.

“And I’ll have Perrier,” Cher said.

“We only have tap,” Niall said.

She scrunched her nose and decided to go with ice tea. Niall nodded and looked at Liam, waiting for him to order something. He simply smiled and shook his head, not wanting anything. Niall nodded and walked away with the orders, silently grunting to himself.

Liam turned to Cher and sighed. “Cher, we need to talk.”

“You can say anything in front of my mates Liam,” she smirked and high-fived her girlfriends.

“Okay,” Liam sighed once more, getting ready to break the news. “I want to break up…”


	4. Chapter Three

 

“What?!” Cher exclaimed, fuming.

“We’re breaking up…,” Liam repeated, scratching the back of his head and wincing.

“The night of the dance?” Cher asked in disbelief, not believing this was happening to her. “You’re  _joking_  right?”

“No I’m afraid I’m not but hey we can still be–”

“Don’t you even finish that sentence Liam,” she growled.

Liam shut up and Cher flipped her hair, pretending everything between them was okay and that nothing had just happened. Cher was in denial, she couldn’t believe  _he_  was breaking up with  _her_. That wasn't how things were supposed to be; Cher was always the one to do the dumping!

Cher knew there had to be something going on for this to happen. She didn't know what it was but she had a suspicion Liam might have been cheating on her –  _the nerve of him!_

Either way she pretended as if it wasn't a big deal and she got up. She tried to contain herself but it was very hard and inside she was fuming like crazy. She sighed before looking up at Liam.

“I’ll see you at the dance Liam,” she smiled lightly before walking out of the restaurant.

The girls quickly followed behind until it was just Liam and his friends left there, sitting down at the table.

“Well that went well…,” Andy said bluntly.

Liam sighed and looked out the window, not wanting to have to talk about it. Andy nudged him and said, “Why did you break up with her mate?”

“I think there’s someone else,” Liam replied, turning his gaze back to his friends.

They smirked and did a pathetic “oooo”, trying to imitate girls.

“She hot?”

“Who is she?”

“Does she go to our school?”

“Guys…,” Liam sighed, shutting his eyes. He wasn’t ready for this, he wasn’t ready at all. But he had to come out of the closet at some point, it was sort of sad that his friends didn’t know yet.

Cher didn’t even know but Liam knew, he had stopped liking her for a good few months, he just didn’t know how to handle it himself so he pretended to ignore it which didn’t help him.

“I’m gay,” Liam said slowly.

“Oh so it’s a  _boy?!_ ” both friends smirked and grinned.

Liam nodded, wanting to slowly melt to the ground. And thus the teasing began, Liam was already getting a headache from hearing their comments about it all. He knew he’d regret telling them but he never knew how soon he’d regret it.

“Who is he?” Andy asked.

Liam opened his eyes, obviously shocked by the question. He opened his mouth but then closed it quickly, not knowing how to reply to that question. Liam frowned and concentrated on the table.

“I don’t know…”

\- - -

Niall came back with all the drinks to find only Liam left there. Liam had his arms under his head and his face was buried into his arms on the table.

Niall set down the drinks and Liam woke up, surprisingly still looking good even though he was exhausted. Niall found himself staring at Liam and how handsome he looked right then and there.

“Here, this should cover for it,” Liam put down a twenty before getting up.

“Oh no it’s okay, keep your money,” Niall said, feeling bad for him for some really strange reason.

Liam shook his head and Niall felt even worse than before – he just couldn’t bring himself to accept the money.

“I won’t take it off that table,” Niall said, meaning it.

Liam picked it up and put it in Niall’s free hand. Both of them went stiff at the contact – never touching each other’s hands before.

Liam smiled politely before walking out of the restaurant. Niall sighed and brought the drinks to the back.

“Hello Niall,” a deep voice said.

Niall turned around and saw someone in a Superman outfit. The person had red boots, blue tights with a yellow speed over the outfit. There was a big red ‘S’ over the blue fabric on the chest with a red cape attached to it. The person was also wearing a red mask.

“Niall it’s me,” a familiar British voice said.

Niall squinted and took off the mask that covered a third of his face. He gasped to see Louis’ blue eyes staring into his.

“Lou?” Niall asked.

His hair was styled differently and Niall felt a bit weird admitting it but Louis looked sort of … hot!

“And what in the  _world_  is going on?!” Paul asked, noticing Louis’ costume.

Lou turned to Paul and said, “It’s the Halloween dance tonight and Niall’s supposed to meet his lover boy.”

“Ooh,” Paul grinned, knowing fully well that Niall was gay. “So what are you still doing here at Nando’s? Go to the dance!”

“Caroline’s coming back at midnight and I don’t even have a costume,” Niall exclaimed, sighing to himself and running a hand through his blond hair.

Paul thought about it for a moment, wondering what were his options. Finally after a few minutes, he sighed and clapped his hands together.

“Come on, we’re going to the costume store,” Paul announced, pulling both of the boys with him.

\- - -

“Forget it, we’ve been through everything,” Niall groaned.

The blond went from Zorro to a pirate, a prisoner to Barack Obama and so much more. No costume had that right touch for him. They practically tried everything in the store but Niall drew the limits at a dress, there was no way he was pretending to be a girl.

Paul groaned and rested his head onto the glass counter, sighing. He noticed something in the glass that caught his eye. He squinted and said, “Simon … can I see that mask?”

Simon took it out and passed it to Paul. “There’s only a bow tie that goes with that Mr. Higgins, no costume unfortunately.”

“We’ll take both,” Paul grinned. “I have the perfect thing to go with them.”

Niall came out of the changing room and both boys walked over to Paul who was paying for the two things. Niall frowned and asked, “What are you getting?”

“You’ll see, I found something for you Niall,” Paul grinned, grabbing the bag from Simon and turning to the boys.

\- - -

“Niall you look amazing,” Paul exclaimed.

Niall wrinkled his nose, feeling a bit awkward in the outfit. He was in a nice suit with a black bow tie and had the black mask over his face. The costume made Niall look a real Prince Charming.

“You sure you’re okay with this Paul?” he asked, wincing a bit.

Paul nodded and smiled. “You got out there and find your lover boy, I expect to hear everything later mister.”

Niall grinned sheepishly and nodded, walking over to hug Paul. Paul smiled and hugged him back tightly, glad to finally see Niall do something for  _him_  for once. That wretched Caroline was taking over his life slowly and the poor boy needed to live and go out more.

They both pulled away from the hug and Louis finally turned around, taking a good look at Niall’s outfit. His eyes grew wide and Louis gasped. Niall didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Niall you look  _hot_ ,” Lou nodded approvingly.

Niall’s cheeks turned red and he blushed. Niall didn’t have a crush on his friend but still a compliment was a compliment. Louis smirked at Niall’s reaction, causing the blond to blush even more. Paul simply rolled his eyes playfully and laughed at their childish behaviour.

Niall turned to look at himself in the mirror and gasped. It didn’t even look like him one bit. If he didn’t know any better, he wouldn’t even know if it’s him. Niall was never one to compliment himself and thought horrid thoughts about his looks but he thought he actually looked quite spiffy in that outfit.

“Ready?” Louis smirked.

Niall nodded and sighed as they got into the orange van that Louis hated so. Niall had butterflies in his stomach; he was finally going to meet Anonymous that night at the dance.


	5. Chapter Four

 

“Remember Lou we have to be back at the restaurant by midnight or else I’m dead,” Niall said.

Louis nodded. “Okay, give me your cell.” Niall was confused but he passed his cell phone over to his best friend. Louis set an alarm at a quarter to eleven so they would make it back on time.

“The alarm will go off fifteen minutes before, just come and get me then we’ll drive back okay? Have fun meeting your lover boy,” Louis grinned.

“Thanks,” Niall smiled sheepishly, his cheeks heating up. “You should find someone tonight Louis, not Cher though! Find someone else, someone who would actually like you for you.”

Louis nodded and forced a smile. Niall smiled one last time before walking away, going to head down to the dance. Louis sighed and wiped off the invisible sweat off his forehead. That was close.

Niall didn’t want an escort at the last minute, to not draw more attention. That was fine with Louis, he planned on finding his own crush that night at the Halloween dance.

Louis would be betraying his friend but he couldn’t hold in his feelings any longer. He had to tell Harry how he felt, and what better way than in a disguise where no one would know who he was?

It was easy for Louis to spot Harry; the mop of sexy brown curls gave it away. Harry was dressed as Spiderman but he didn’t have the mask on; making him clearly visible to anyone.

Louis always had a suspicion that Harry might have been gay. There was something inside Louis’ gut that told him there was something special about the boy with the curls. He wasn’t like any other boy Louis had lays his eyes on, there was something  _special_.

Surprisingly Zayn was nowhere in sight so Louis went in and took a deep breath. He walked over to Harry and smirked, getting ready to use his Superman voice so he could be unrecognizable.

“Spiderman … we meet again,” Louis smirked.

Harry squinted and couldn’t tell who the guy was. Could it be possible that it was maybe Liam? Did Harry’s constant flirting finally pay off?

“Who are you?” Harry asked, raising his eyebrows suspiciously.

“The man in the cape, your hero for the night,” Louis replied, trying to remain calm and keep his cheeks the same colour as the rest of his face and not to get it to turn red.

Harry frowned and walked closer, leaning into Louis’ tanned face.

“And what makes you think I need a hero?” he asked.

Just in luck, someone who was dancing bumped into Harry, making him stumble forward. Louis caught him in his arms and help him up, showing off the biceps in his costume. He looked deeply into the curly boy’s eyes and smiled thoughtfully, trying not to be too flirty too soon.

It was just as if it was a scene from the classic movies; Harry fell instantly, just like that. He stood up and his cheeks reddened, he felt suddenly flustered from what had just happened.

“Maybe I do need a hero…,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“That’s what I’m here for curly,” Louis grinned, always wanting to call Harry that– and not just in his dreams.

Harry was completely smitten by that point; the word ‘love’ was written all over in his beautiful green eyes.

“Who  _are_  you?” Harry asked, wanting to know the name of the man who managed to steal his heart in just a few minutes.

“But then there wouldn’t be anymore fun now would there? The fun is all in the secrets,” Louis grinned.

Harry eyed Louis’ lips and slowly leaned in. Louis froze and he could smell Harry’s cologne. His mouth went dry and his heartbeat sped up like crazy. That was the moment that Louis would never forget; the moment he had been tossing and turning about in bed – dreaming about it for countless nights.

Louis leaned in as well and he could feel Harry’s breath on his. Just as their lips were about to touch–

“Hey Harry, vas happenin’?” Zayn asked, munching on a chip, not realizing he ruined a moment for the two boys.

Harry and Louis both pulled away from each other, both mumbling hellos. Zayn being oblivious as he was, didn’t notice and began getting into a huge discussion about his next tattoo he wanted.

Harry’s eyes wondered back to Superman and his heart was pounding like crazy still – even without the kiss! He felt like he was slowly dying; he just wanted to kiss Superman until they were both breathless and gasping for air.

Of course, Zayn wasn’t even  _close_  to being done talking. So the kiss would have to wait but the question was, could the boys handle the wait?

\- - -

Niall sighed as he looked at the clock; 10:57 PM. Only a good three more minutes before he would finally meet Anonymous in real life, face to face.

Niall walked down the stairs and felt all eyes on him as he continued walking. He felt his cheeks turn pink and no one was even listening to the announcement; they were all too busy staring at the blond.

_“And don’t forget to vote for the two best costumes!”_

Niall didn’t get what the big deal was; his outfit was a bit like Bieber’s Prince Charming outfit at Disney – nothing special. Maybe it was a bit fancy but that was his costume, he couldn’t change that.

He felt Cher eyeing him and he gulped, that wasn’t a good sign, not at all.

\- - -

“Who is  _that_?!” Cher exclaimed.

Her friends shrugged helplessly as they all eyed the blond in silence. As weird as it sounded, Cher was jealous of whoever it was; he was getting more attention than her. Not only was she jealous, she also thought the boy was pretty hot.

“There’s something fishy about all this,” Cher frowned, looking at everybody else awing the boy – even Liam. “And I’m going to find out what it is.”

Cher meant that, she would find out no matter what. She needed to find out who he was and who knew? Maybe she would find herself a new boyfriend at the same time, he  _was_  pretty hot after all.

She noticed all her friends staring at him and snapped her fingers angrily. The girls got out of their trances and looked down at the ground; shame and guilt written all over their faces.

“He’s not that good looking,” Cher lied. “So let’s have some fun and forget about him, okay?”

The girls nodded and began dancing to the latest song that began playing. Cher joined them and danced as well, looking flawless as ever. While she continued dancing, she couldn’t help but stare at the boy herself; soon enough there would be a name to go with that person – she’d make sure of it.

\- - -

Liam was waiting in the middle of the dance floor at 11, just like he said he would. He tugged nervously on his red and white plaid shirt, feeling a bit awkward in his outfit.

Liam was dressed as a cowboy; the genius idea coming from his love to Toy Story. He didn’t want to impersonate Woody – after doing that for a good five years as a kid, he was done with that – so he just went for the “cowboy look”.

Liam looked around, trying to see if he could find Unknown. His heart raced just as the thought of finally being able to meet the boy that he couldn’t get off his mind. He knew nothing about the looks of the man but already he was in love; or so he thought anyways.

At the same time looking for Unknown, he was sort of hoping he would spot the sexy Prince Charming again. He could still remember his reaction to when he first spotted him.

_**Everyone was whispering and muttering on about something that caught Liam’s attention. He was originally listening to the announcement but it seemed as if no one was listening but him.** _

**_He looked up at the stairs and his eyes froze on him. He was staring at the most handsome boy alive; he looked like a Prince Charming._ **

_**The boy had blond hair and looked really fit in the outfit. He was wearing a Bieber-look-alike costume from when Justin was at Disney World. It suited him very well and Liam bit down on his lip gently.** _

_**Unfortunately, a black mask was covering so Liam couldn’t recognize who it was. But he could still see those amazing crystal clear blue eyes. There was something familiar and soothing about them but Liam couldn’t place his mind onto it.** _

_**Liam felt as if he had stared enough – even though he felt as if he could stare at Prince Charming forever – so he looked away and tried to focus back onto the announcements but they were already done! Liam sure got distracted there.** _

Liam smiled as he thought about Unknown once more. He had never felt the way he feels about the boy the same way as he felt about Cher. Breaking up with her was the best decision he had ever made and he should have made it sooner.

Someone was in front of Liam and he turned his focus back to what was in front of him. He gasped at the sight; it was the handsome Prince Charming he had been checking out as he walked down the stairs.

Prince Charming was Unknown?!

\- - -

Niall noticed Liam was staring at him funnily. It sort of freaked Niall out, was he not who Liam was expecting? Was he not good enough? Was it the outfit?

A million thoughts were running through little Nialler’s head; the biggest one being  ** _Liam is Anonymous?!??!?!_**

He couldn’t believe his luck, Liam?! Of all people?! Liam? The one who’s girlfriend had a death wish upon him and teased him every constant day? No, this couldn’t be, there had to be some sort of mistake.

Yet there Liam was, still staring confusedly at Niall. Luckily Niall had on his black mask so only his blue eyes were visible. A lot of people had blue eyes at the school so it was no problem and Niall couldn’t be recognizable.

“Unknown?” Liam asked, shocked.

“Anonymous?” Niall replied.

Liam smiled at Niall and nodded. Even though Niall knew it was him, Liam confirming it made it feel super real. Niall shook his head and backed up a bit, freaking out inside of his mind.

“This was a mistake … I have to go–”

“No it’s not a mistake! You’re Unknown aren’t you?” Liam asked, gripping onto Niall’s wrist.

The contact shocked Niall, just like the first time. He pulled his wrist away but turned around, nodding at Liam. Liam smiled and said, “It’s not a mistake, you’re Unknown and I’m Anonymous. Well, I was Anonymous, it’s obvious that I’m Liam now.” He chuckled. “And your name is?”

Niall hesitated, not knowing what to say. He wasn’t ready to tell Liam he was only Nando’s boy, he didn’t want to ruin the moment just yet. Luckily for him, another announcement went off, interrupting them.

_“Don’t forget, just another announcement to vote for the two best costumes!”_

“What happened to your girlfriend?” Niall asked, his hopes dropping down.

“It’s over.”

Niall looked up, shocked. Those blue eyes met Liam’s brown eyes and both their hearts secretly swooned for each other. Niall managed to croak out a small, high pitched “Really?” and Liam simply nodded, confirming it.

“I guess you weren’t expecting it to be me, you were expecting some guy with a guitar who’s obsessed with singing and it shows huh?” Liam asked.

“Yeah,” Niall nodded. “Something along those lines. But can you blame me? You’re Liam Payne; star football player. You can’t tell me that’s not you, but you seem to like singing from our conversations. Which one are you lad?”

“I’m both of them, I just show my star football player self out to everyone while I keep in that singing talent,” Liam sighed. “My dad, I told you…” He shrugged and shook it off. “How about we go outside and take a little walk?”

“But if you want to be voted for the best costume, you’d better stay inside,” Niall said flatly.

“I don’t care about that,” Niall raised his eyebrows, a bit shocked from that answer. “So, shall we?”

Niall smirked and took out Liam’s outstretched arm. He linked his with Liam’s and they stroll to the outside, forgetting about the rest of the world.

\- - -

Zayn finally went to go dance with a girl; leaving Harry and Louis finally alone after a good thirty minutes. Louis turned to Harry to notice he was already staring at Lou.

“Finally, alone,” Harry mumbled, smiling sheepishly.

Louis smirked and slowly walked closer, his heartbeat speeding up once again. “Now, where were we again?”

“I think it was something along these lines,” Harry breathed gently, his mouth only a few inches away from Louis’.

He leaned in and crushed his soft warm lips onto the older boy’s. Louis was shocked that it was actually happening and he literally froze up in the kiss.

 _Not now,_  Louis thought impatiently.  _Please lips, RESPOND!_

Luckily, Louis’ brain listened and his lips began moving with Harry’s. His hands traveled down to Harry’s waist and he wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist securely.

Harry’s hands slithered around Louis’ neck and the kiss intensified itself. Their lips were moving in-sync and their hearts were beating as one; they were connecting with each other with more than just their lips.

Harry gently nudged Louis’ bottom lip with his own and Louis froze once again. Was Harry initiating some making out…? Was it really just Louis’ imagination or did Harry want some tongue action?

Harry’s lips nudged Louis’ bottom lip again and Louis grinned a bit into the kiss. He parted his lips and Harry’s tongue slide in. They explored each other’s mouths and Louis’ grip around Harry’s waist tightened, bringing the younger boy closer to him.

Harry began massaging Louis’ tongue with his own and Louis’ heart melted a bit. He couldn’t believe all his dreams were finally coming true. He was, in fact making out with Harry Styles – his crush of way-too-long.

And finally, Harry noticed Louis; or Superman anyways. But that was all that mattered at the moment, Louis wouldn’t look past that night. He wouldn’t look into the future and complicate things. All he continued doing was kissing Harry and having the best damn time ever.

\- - -

“At least twenty questions so I can figure out who you are?” Liam begged.

Niall chuckled and thought it was so adorable how Liam was trying to figure out who he was. “Ten questions.”

“Fine,” Liam grimaced. “Do you actually go to this school?”

Niall turned to Liam, shocked by that question. What did he mean by it? “Of course!” Niall was taken aback from the question and Liam could tell. He smiled helplessly and shrugged, explaining himself. “You never know who could be lying these days.”

“Okay, next question,” Niall smiled.

“Were you disappointed to find out I’m Anonymous?”

“Surprisingly, no,” Niall smiled.

“Did you vote for me for vice president?” Liam asked, curious.

“Surprisingly, yes,” Niall laughed, getting a laugh out of Liam too.

Liam just stared in shock; Unknown’s laugh was so addicting and so filled with life. It was beautiful, Liam never knew a laugh could sound so beautiful – yet there Prince Charming was, laughing as beautifully as ever.

“Would you rather eat salad or a Big Mac?”

Niall looked at Liam, confused but shrugged it off. “Big Mac.”

Liam grinned and said, “Well that narrows down quite a few boys; you’d be surprised on how many people prefer eating healthy.”

“Not me, I like my junk food,” Niall grinned.

Liam was staring into Anonymous’ deep blue eyes once again. He sighed and his heart picked up its pace for like the twentieth time in only five minutes. It was impossible how this boy could make him feel – and he didn’t even know who the boy was!

“You’d think I would remember those eyes … they’re so mesmerizing,” Liam sighed, staring into them.

Niall’s cheeks reddened and he grinned a bit. He couldn’t believe how fast he was falling for Liam, of course it was him! How could he not have noticed all along?

“If I ask you to dance, does that count as a question?” Liam asked.

“But there’s no music?” Niall frowned.

“So?” Liam held out his hands. Niall grinned and took his hand. He rested one hand onto Liam’s shoulder and the other intertwined with Liam’s. Liam rested one hand onto Niall’s waist and they began to slow dance.

Their faces were only a few mere inches apart and Niall felt his cheeks flushing a bit. Sparks were running through his entire body as they were holding hands and he needed to occupy himself to not make a fool out of himself.

“All out of questions?” Niall asked.

Liam thought about it for a moment as they continued to dance. They were barely slow dancing but the thought was nice, even if they were both men, they didn’t mind.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” he finally asked after thinking of the question.

“I’ll let you know,” Niall smiled, looking into those deep brown eyes.

“But I’ve seen you before in my life?” Liam asked, confused.

“Yes.”

“How could I have not remembered or noticed you?” Liam groaned, feeling ashamed of himself for noticing this beautiful man before.

“Maybe you were looking but not paying attention,” Niall shrugged, flashing another beautiful smile of his. “You have one more question.”

“Do you, Unknown, feel like you made the right choice by not leaving and meeting me here tonight?” Liam asked.

Niall remained quiet for a moment, never taking his eyes off of Liam’s. He smiled and said, “I do. And do you, Liam Payne, ever want to see me again after tonight’s dance?”

“Hmm I’d have to think about that one,” Liam said.

Niall frowned and Liam laughed. “I’m joking, of course.” Niall looked up at him and lightly hit him on the chest. Liam simply smiled and laughed, causing Niall to laugh with him.

They both looked into each other’s eyes and froze. Both boys stopped dancing and continued staring deeply into each other’s eyes, swooning as if their lives depended on it.

Liam’s hands left Niall and went up to the blond’s face, getting close to the mask. Niall did nothing to stop him and simply held his breath; watching Liam continue. Liam gently grabbed onto the tips of the mask and was about to pull it off when–

**BZZZZ! BZZZZZZ!**

Niall sighed and pulled away, mumbling “Not now…”. Liam frowned and sighed, running a hand through his brown hair.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“I have to go,” Niall sighed, hating himself and Caroline at the moment.

“You have a curfew or something?” Liam frowned.

“Yeah … something like that,” Niall sighed, frowning. “Tonight was the best night ever, thank you Liam.”

“Where are you going?” Liam frowned, watching Niall slowly walk away.

“I’m late.”

“For what?”

“Reality.”

And with that, Niall ran inside, his heart racing and a million of thoughts were going through his mind. What Niall didn’t realize was that he dropped his cell phone on the ground, leaving Liam to pick it up.

\- - -

_“It’s almost midnight, time to announce the two best costumes that you, student body has voted for!”_

Niall looked around, trying to find something that was supposed to be easy – Louis being in a very visible Superman costume – but was surprisingly hard to find. He couldn’t find Louis and he was searching around everywhere. There were a lot of people and it was sort of hard screaming out over the loud, pounding music that was going throughout the entire gym.

Liam ran inside, trying to find Unknown. He needed to know who it was before the boy left; it was killing him inside. He had to know or else he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night – or any night for that matter!

Liam also had an excellent reason to see Unknown again; he had his cell phone. How were they supposed to keep in contact throughout the day without the cell phone? Of course they could email but texting had been their main key at keeping their communication going.

Niall finally found a boy in blue tights with a yellow speedo over and he ran towards him. He was shocked to find out that his best friend Louis was making out with someone in a Spiderman suit.

“Come on we need to go,” Niall hissed, trying to pull Louis away.

_“And the winners are; Liam Payne and Prince Charming!”_

The spotlight hit on Liam and also on a very surprised Niall. Oh no.


	6. Chapter Five

 

“Hey mate you won,” Andy grinned at his best friend Liam.

Only his friend wasn’t paying attention to him at all; Liam had more important things on his mind. There was a bunch but the main thing on his mind was that Prince Charming won … and he was getting away.

Niall kept tugging onto Louis until he finally pulled away. Niall didn’t have time to look at who was behind the Spider Man costume, he simply grabbed Louis and pulled him out of the school.

The boys ran to the van and got in, buckling up. Louis started the car and they began driving, Niall freaking out casually inside his mind.

“So who’s lover boy?” Louis grinned.

“Liam Payne.”

Louis slammed onto the breaks and Niall almost had a concussion. He winced and looked at Louis with wide eyes. “Don’t just stop lad, drive! Hurry we need to make it back before them!”

Louis began driving but he was still in shock. He cleared his throat and said, “Liam Payne? As in–”

“Yes, that Liam Payne. There’s only lad,” Niall chuckled. “Plus he broke up with girlfriend.”

“Cher Lloyd?!” Louis screeched.

Niall winced and covered his ears, hoping he didn’t just go deaf from his best friend. Why was Louis over reacting so much? Sure it was quite a bit to take in but Niall handled it pretty well … hadn’t he?

“Yes Cher Lloyd.”

“So what did he say when he found out it was you?” Louis asked, stopping at a traffic light.

Niall groaned and sighed, hating that the traffic was also against them. They would never get there on time if that kept happening!

“He didn’t find out it was me, there was no time. Plus I’m Nando’s Boy,” Niall sighed. “I’m not who he expects…”

\- - -

“Shotgun,” Zayn yelled out, rushing to the passenger seat.

Usually the two boys would bicker and bicker over who got to sit in the front seat, and usually Harry won – but not that day. Harry didn’t care about anything, his mind was stuck on one person: Superman.

Who was he? His voice hadn’t sounded familiar and the man was wearing a mask so how could Harry ever find out who it was? It was the best damn kiss Harry had ever got and he wanted more, he needed it as if it was a drug.

Zayn couldn’t believe it when Harry sat in the backseat voluntarily without even muttering a word. Zayn turned from his seat and gave Harry a look of horror.

“You okay mate?” he asked and frowned. “Since when do you not care about shotgun?”

Harry simply shrugged and grinned to himself; thinking back about his pleasant evening. Who needed Liam anyways? All he wanted was Superman and he wanted him all to himself. He needed his hero back; he needed his saviour.

“Where are your prizes? Wasn’t there a contest or something? Why didn’t you win?” Caroline demanded as she saw the boys’ empty hands.

“We didn’t win mom,” Zayn sighed. “Liam and some Prince Charming took it away. I find I look much better than measly Prince Charming but whatever.” He sighed and looked outside to the window.

“I am very upset about this,” Caroline said in an angry tone.

Zayn turned back and frowned; looking at his mother’s emotionless face. He raised his eyebrows and scratched the back of his head; confused. “You don’t  _look_ upset?”

She sighed and flipped her hair a bit. “It’s the Botox; I can’t show any emotions for a good hour and a half.”

Zayn rolled his eyes and looked back outside the window. He crossed his arms and he grumbled to himself. Prince Charming wasn’t that hot, not at all. Zayn was much better looking and girls were all over him and his “hot young teacher” outfit.  _That_  should have won the costume contest; not stupid Prince Charming.

\- - -

“So who were  _you_  with Mr. Tomlinson?” Niall smirked, wanting to know every little detail.

Louis blushed and his grip on the steering wheel tightened just a bit tighter than usual. He instantly got butterflies in his stomach and that brought him back to the thought about Harry.

Oh no, Louis silently groaned to himself. How the hell was he supposed to tell Niall?  _Oh yeah sorry by the way mate I made out with your stepbrother and I’m in love with him … I hope that’s okay with you._

Yeah like he was supposed to say that to Niall. It wasn’t Louis’ fault! When a man had raging hormones and kept in their secret crush; it’s bound to come out at some point. You can’t pick who you fall in love with and Louis was a victim of that; a big victim.

Luckily for him, Caroline’s car stopped right beside theirs at yet another red light. Niall gasped and ducked quickly, hoping she wouldn’t spot him. Louis looked over and noticed them; he could have sworn Zayn looked right at him. He gasped and quickly ducked himself a bit, looking straight ahead.

“Mom, Niall is in that car,” Zayn gasped and pointed to the orange van.

Caroline looked to where Zayn was pointing and just saw Louis sheepishly waving at them. “Hi Ms. Flack!” Caroline rolled her eyes and looked away, glaring at Zayn.

“Niall is at the restaurant, working. You’re being ridiculous Zayn,” she explained. “He would never disobey me like that.”

“But he was there! I saw him with his geeky friend, H-Harry must have seen as well.” Zayn was desperate to be right, he knew he saw Niall! He wasn’t crazy, Niall was actually there in the car. “Harry back me up, Niall was there wasn’t he?”

“Hmm?” Harry mumbled, on Cloud Nine.

Zayn groaned and knew Harry was useless after that. Harry couldn’t stop thinking about those deep blue eyes; the strong muscles that saved him from falling. The cute little laugh that Superman had. It was passed the smitten phase; Harry felt like he loved the man, the man he didn’t even know.

Harry had to find out who it was, he just had to.

\- - -

The light turned green and Louis stepped on the gas, hoping to not go over the speed limit though. Niall groaned and said, “Can’t you go any faster Lou?! I know you’re trying to take care of your second car but please hurry up!”

“I’m going five over the limit Niall,” Louis sighed impatiently. “I’m doing the best I can without getting stopped by the cops. We’ll get there before them, I promise.”

Niall sighed and looked away, letting his thoughts trail back to Liam. He smiled sheepishly as he thought about his strong arms, that tan skin, the masculine-yet-adorable face of his and those lips … how amazing would it be to kiss those lips?

Niall was in his own little Liam world. He sighed to himself and knew it didn’t matter; Liam probably wasn’t even having a second thought about him.

\- - -

“Liam what’s your problem mate?” Andy asked. “You’re acting differently.”

“I … that boy, his cell phone, I…,” Liam mumbled under his breath, making no sense whatsoever.

Cher had been staring at him for quite awhile and she sighed. She collected herself and made her way through the dancing crowd and walked over to him. She smirked and looked at the crown on his head; given by the school as the prize.

“Hello Liam,” she faked a bright smile.

“Oh hey Cher,” Liam mumbled, slowly putting the phone in his back pocket as if he was trying to protect it from her.

“So listen,” she sighed, slowly walking closer to him. “How about we get back together?”

“But we broke up,” Liam replied, frowning a bit.

Cher pretended as if she hadn’t just heard that and she leaned in, pressing her lips onto Liam’s. Liam was startled and shocked from that sudden movement. But the kiss meant absolutely nothing to him; it felt empty and not passionate like it used to be back then.

Liam pulled away and backed up, raising his eyebrows. “We broke up, I’m interested in someone else anyways.”

“Fine,” Cher rolled her eyes. “I’ll find a better man, someone who will treat me like a Prince Charming.” She smirked, having a double meaning in that sentence. Liam understood it right away and his eyes went wide.

“Wait what?!” he exclaimed.

Cher laughed and smirked. “I knew you still wanted me, well too late; you lost your chance Liam. I’m interested in Prince Charming now so him and I will date soon enough and you’ll be all alone.”

And with that, Cher walked away.

\- - -

“Shut up Zayn,” Caroline exclaimed, getting angry. “We’ll be at the restaurant soon.”

“Soon isn’t soon enough,” Zayn exclaimed and put his foot on the gas pedal as well.

Caroline shrieked as they began speeding way over the limit. “Get your foot off right now young man!”

“I can’t,” Zayn freaked out. “It’s stuck!”

Both of them shrieked as they realized what a big problem that was. And Harry was still just in his little words, touching his numb lips and wondering if that really had happened at the dance.

\- - -

“Go go go,” Niall encouraged.

Louis slowed down and stopped at the yellow light; it turning red a minute later. Niall groaned and sighed, “You could have made that light lad.”

“Yellow means slow down and not speed up,” Louis explained, trying to be safe and cautious.

“WE’RE GOING TO DIE,” a voice sounding oddly like Caroline’s shrieked.

A car zoomed past the red light and multiple honks followed after that from angry and nervous cars all around. Niall and Louis both gave each other a look; their eyes going wide.

“Was that…?” Louis couldn’t even finish his sentence.

“Uh huh….,” Niall nodded, his heart practically pounding out of his chest.

\- - -

The car was rapidly approaching the restaurant and Zayn’s foot was still quite stuck. Both of them were still shrieking like little girls and Zayn managed to finally pull his foot off. Caroline stepped on the breaks and surprisingly managed to park perfectly in the Nando’s parking.

She looked in the review mirror and gasped. She frowned and sighed. “Oh no … my face is back!”

Zayn didn’t have time for that, if Harry or his mom wouldn’t follow; he’d prove it himself. He ran inside of Nando’s and looked around. Caroline quickly followed behind and Harry managed to walk in as well; still on Cloud Nine.

Caroline looked around and saw no signs of Niall. Zayn smirked and crossed his arms. “Ha! See, no Niall here.”

“He better be here or else he’s in big trouble. Where’s Niall?” Caroline demanded.

Paul looked up and his stomach ached; there came the headache. He hated that woman with a burning passion but he kept it all inside and put on a fake smile.

“What do you mean where is he?” Paul asked.

Caroline huffed and pushed Paul away, looking around, trying to find Niall. Paul silently groaned to himself and he knew he had to keep talking to the woman to stall for Niall.

“Caroline I was thinking we need to add more chicken to the menu, I don’t think there’s enough,” Paul explained, stepping in front of her and blocking her view.

She laughed sarcastically and rolled her eyes. “If that’s supposed to be a joke you’re not very funny Paul. Not like you need the chicken anyways.” Paul ignored the insult at the moment and stepped in front of her as she tried to step away.

“I think there’s a funky peri-peri chicken the chef made today and it doesn’t smell good around here, don’t you find?” Paul kept stalling, running out of ideas.

She simply huffed and tried to walk away but Paul stepped in front of her again. She was getting very impatient and upset about all this.

“Okay what is your problem!?” Caroline exclaimed, getting angry. “Where is Niall?! When I find him I’m going to–"

“Table 12’s food is ready,” Niall exclaimed, putting a plate onto the counter that he took from the chef who kindly let him use it as evidence.

“Niall what are you doing back there?” Caroline squinted, glaring at him.

“I was just working on my cooking,” Niall faked a grin, trying to make it look convincing. “How was the dance?”

Zayn glared at Niall and Niall kept the same face; trying to not make it obvious at all. Zayn was obviously upset that Niall made it back and didn’t get caught. Oh well, that was his problem!

“Something weird is going on around here … and it’s not the peri-peri,” Caroline glared and stalked off, going back to the car. “Boys, come on!”

Zayn followed his mom but not before giving Niall one last glare. He then stalked off and walked out as quickly as possible. Niall sighed and looked down at his costume that was hidden from the apron, smiling from relief.

\- - -

“Not even a scratch and we made it,” Louis grinned, looking at his all-in-one-piece orange van.

He hated the thing but he was glad it was still in one piece and not dented in the slightest. Maybe he needed to learn to appreciate the car more; it had been through some pretty good times with him.

The huge Nando’s sign began making strange sounds. It began tilting forward and before Louis could even blink or do anything; it began crashing down at the speed of lightning.

The sign fell right onto the orange van. Louis’ eyes grew wide and his heartbeat sped up … that did not just happen! No! It was his second car; his dad was going to  _kill_  him!

Louis ran his hands through his hair and groaned; his life was officially ruined forever. Caroline walked out with Zayn and he turned to them.

“Ms. Flack, your sign hit my car,” he exclaimed, his voice higher than normal.

Caroline just rolled her eyes and got into her car, Zayn staring at Louis before getting in himself. Louis groaned and couldn’t help but stare at his totally-crushed orange van.

\- - -

“That was close,” Niall sighed. “Too close.”

“Tell me about it,” Paul groaned, watching Niall walk over to him. “I had to make up a lie and say there was something wrong with the peri-peri today.”

Niall burst out laughing but something caught his attention. A Spider Man suit was walking out of Nando’s and Niall gasped; the mop of brown curls on him were noticeable from a mile away

**_Harry was Spider Man?!_ **


	7. Chapter Six

 

Niall had issues sleeping that night. One, he couldn't stop thinking about star football player Liam Payne and how  _he_  was Anonymous. Second,  _ **Louis made out with his stepbrother Harry?!**_

How could that be!? How could Louis fall for him?! Did that mean Harry was gay?! How did he not notice Louis had a crush on Harry?! What would happen after that night once they saw each other again!?

All the questions were giving Niall a major headache. He groaned and shut his eyes, trying not to picture his best friend and his stepbrother making out. Just the thought of it grossed him out to the max.

His mind luckily forgot about it at the moment and he focused just on Liam. He was so close to getting revealed at the dance, yet so far from his goal. Liam was going to find out in just a few mere seconds that it was actually Niall but no - of course his cell phone had to buzz at that exact moment. How typical.

Niall groaned and searched for his phone, hoping to text Anony- er, Liam - or even just get a text from him so they could sort it all out. He bolted up in his bed when it wasn't at the usual spot. Niall searched around his entire attic-bedroom and it was nowhere to be found.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair. He must have dropped it at the dance or something. The question was: did Niall want someone to pick up his cell phone and find it - read all the texts and everything - or was it better if it wasn't found?

\- - -

Liam set the phone down on his bedside table and plopped onto his warm bed. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, gently gripping it as if he was trying to relieve his stress by doing so.

The only thing that was stuck in his mind was Prince Charming. Who was it? Liam, being the gentleman he was, wasn't going to look through the phone to find out who Prince Charming was - that would be very rude.

He would have to find a way to figure out who it was during school time. Maybe he could put up flyers or something along those lines? Liam didn't care if it was geeky, he had fallen for an unknown boy and he needed to figure out who it was.

Liam got into his pajamas - which was simply boxers - and got under the covers. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. If only he could have had just five more seconds at the dance to take off the boy's mask to see who it was instead of having all the mystery and confusion.

Liam didn't know much about Unknown, all he knew was he was Irish, he had amazing blue eyes and also he had blond hair. That was pretty much the extent of Liam's knowledge towards Prince Charming.

As Liam slowly fell asleep, those piercing deep blue eyes remained stuck into his mind. Liam luckily fell asleep after a lot of tossing and turning in his bed, but for once; he was finally happy. Liam fell asleep in his bed with a huge smile on his face that night.

\- - -

"Who  _is_  this Prince Charming?!" Cher groaned.

She threw yet another yearbook onto her hardwood floor. Cher was annoyed and upset - having wasted hours on trying to find out who the popular Prince Charming was. It was impossible and it could have been anyone in the yearbook; it made things quite hard for Cher.

She was still in love with Liam, but she needed to pretend as if she was completely over him and over the breakup already. And what better way to show the whole world - well in her case, school - than by moving onto someone else?

Maybe she should have picked someone a little less harder to figure it out before telling her ex - the main reason she was even doing it - that she had a thing for Prince Charming. She was already sick and tired of searching for him and it had only been a few hours.

"Cher-bear you should to go bed soon honey," her mom hollered from downstairs, noticing how early in the morning it was.

Cher groaned and went on her Facebook; maybe looking at pictures from people from her school would help her figure out who Prince Charming was. It was worth a shot - Cher would try anything at that point because she was that desperate to figure it out.

She came across her profile picture and gasped; it was still a picture of her and Liam. In the picture, they were kissing each other on the football field; Liam in his football uniform and Cher in her cheerleader uniform.

Cher felt tears gather in her eyelids and she sniffed, clicking away from the picture to distract herself. She had to find out who Prince Charming was - she was determined.

\- - -

Louis had made a call to his dad and told him the whole situation with the car. His dad was very upset but he was on his way to pick Louis up since he didn't have a ride home anymore.

For the time being, Louis was stuck there at Nando's. He couldn't go back inside since the restaurant was almost closing so he just remained there outside in the cold.

Louis saw a familiar Spiderman costume and the brown curls made it impossible to miss. Louis' heart pounded and he quickly put back on his black mask to make him unrecognizable in case Harry would notice him.

He had no idea whether he should go up to Harry or not. After pondering it for a bare minimum of five seconds, he decided he should; he needed one last real goodbye before knowing he'll probably never see Harry again.

Louis ran over and smiled, clearing his throat to use his deep Superman voice once again. "Spiderman . . . we must stop meeting like this at once."

Harry's face was  _priceless_ ; the way his green eyes lit up once he saw Louis and he also had a huge grin plastered onto his little face. It truly made Louis' heart skip many, many beats.

"S-Superman?" Harry had such a small voice there, it actually shocked Louis.

"Yes curly?" Louis grinned, loving to hear himself call Harry that, it made him feel special inside.

"W-What, h-how?!" Harry exclaimed, too confused and star struck to even finish his sentence.

Louis laughed, loving to see Harry at a loss for words. It was adorable and it made Louis want him all to himself even more than before - which he thought was physically impossible. But there Harry was, managing to do the impossible yet again.

"We don't have much time, my dad is coming right now," Louis sighed sadly.

Harry approached Louis but he tripped over a rock, tumbling to the ground. Louis noticed right away and held his arms out, catching the shocked boy right away into his secure arms.

Louis lifted him up and steadied him by the waist, resting his hands around the younger boy's waist. Harry panted and his green eyes looked back into those sweet blue eyes once again. The curly-haired boy's cheeks flustered and he grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks for saving me . . . again," his cheeks reddened even more.

Louis smirked. "I think that deserves a reward, yeah?"

Harry grinned and caught on immediately. His cheeks flustered a bit and he replied, "It sure does deserve a reward for your braveness."

He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Louis', feeling the oh-so-familiar lips. They collided with each other and Harry's arms wrapped around Louis' warm neck. Both boys felt relief as their lips once again complimented one another.

That time, Louis was the first to initiate the making out. He licked Harry's bottom lip gently and pulled him closer. Harry gladly parted his mouth and their tongues danced together.

The kiss was once again getting very passionate very fast. It was too overwhelming with all of the passion so both boys pulled away; resting their foreheads against each other.

"Who  _are_  you?" Harry panted, gasping for air after yet another amazing kiss delivered by Superman.

"Harry," Louis sighed sadly. "I might not be who you're expecting."

"That's okay," Harry grinned. "Wait . . . you're not Olly are you?" He shuddered; Harry was nice but everyone had a limit.

"No," Louis chuckled. "I'm not that bad. Actually," he gulped, taking in a deep breath. "I'm-"

"Harry," Caroline yelled. "Get in the car now, we're leaving!"

The curly-haired boy sighed and look down at the ground sheepishly, kicking the pavement with his foot. He quickly cupped Louis' face and kissed him deeply for a few seconds; trying to take in Louis' lips as much as he could and remember them.

He then pulled away and ran into the car. Louis had a goofy grin on his face and he giggled like a little kid to himself. Maybe things wouldn't be that bad after all...

Louis' smile faltered as he thought of something; Niall! Who knew if Niall would be okay with them being a couple? It was his stepbrother and his best friend after all, poor lad.

Not only that, if Louis got to see Harry still in costume and he had come out of Nando's . . . that meant Niall probably saw him as well. No, Louis was sure of it. How could anyone miss a boy that handsome? Uh oh.

\- - -

Harry walked back over to the car and once again got into the backseat without even muttering a single word. Zayn simply rolled his eyes and sighed to himself, thinking Harry had lost it.

No one asked Zayn how  _he_  felt about everything that was happening that night. Harry had met someone but Zayn wasn't sure of whom it was; he didn't even know if Harry knew himself! He knew that Harry was already in love and it bugged him uncontrollably. Zayn felt as if he was losing his younger twin, and fast.

"What's up with Harry?" Caroline asked, stopping at a red light.

"He found someone tonight at the dance and ever since then he's been acting all weird and stupid," Zayn mumbled, not caring that he was bashing him.

His feelings were hurt and even though he wasn't really showing it; he was upset at whoever the person was that managed to steal Harry's heart in just a few hours. He knew his younger twin fell fast but, that fast!?

"Awe," Caroline grinned. "Well who is she Harold?"

Harry's cheeks flushed and it wasn't because of the fact that his mom had called him his full name - which he absolutely hated.

He stiffened and froze because it wasn't a she; it was a he. Harry wasn't ready to tell his family about the fact that he was gay. He hadn't really been sure himself but he knew for sure after that night; he was in fact gay.

Unfortunately for Harry, Zayn noticed how he reacted when Caroline said 'she'. He smirked to himself and he was going to get to the bottom of everything; he was going to get his normal younger twin back.

\- - -

Harry's mind was filled with a million thoughts and questions. He got into some fresh boxers and got under the covers, getting ready to sleep. He sighed and looked around his room, a smile appearing on his face.

His mind was fully at work and he was trying to figure out who Superman could be. It wasn't as bad as Olly but it was still someone who wasn't that popular Harry was guessing.

Did popularity even matter for Harry anymore? If someone was in love, they were in love! He had to learn to accept it and it probably wasn't even that bad, Harry tended to overreact on certain situations.

He also had to tell his family that he was gay soon enough, he couldn't hide it forever unfortunately. Zayn would probably not even care - it was his mum's reaction that he was afraid of, more like terrified actually.

His fingers went up to his numb lips and he touched them softly. He grinned and giggled softly to himself. He was glad he managed to get two other kisses in for the night.

Harry was definitely looking forward to school on Monday. Hopefully Superman would reveal himself on Monday and if not; he wouldn't know what he'd do with his life.


	8. Chapter Seven

 

The next morning, Niall woke up with a massive headache. His forehead was pounding and his mouth was completely dry. He felt horrible and he knew exactly why he felt so awful.

Niall had told himself the night before that he was going to go talk to Louis about the whole ... situation. He needed to see if there was even a possibility to understand everything that had happened. He was so confused and his brain couldn't even register the fact.

He got up and the room was spinning a bit. He stumbled back onto the bed and sighed. Niall rubbed his eyes and slowly got up, walking over to his wardrobe. He put on a red polo and some random jeans; not caring whether he looked okay or not on the weekend.

Niall walked downstairs and went to the kitchen, getting the pots and pans out; sorting the ingredients. As much as he needed to talk to Louis, it would have to wait until he was done making breakfast for Caroline and the twins.

It didn't take Niall too much time to cook breakfast but he was very distracted that morning. He practically burned himself since he was paying attention and he wasn't looking at the stove.

Once he was done cooking and cleaning his mess, he put each breakfast on a tray and brought one upstairs at a time - starting with Caroline.

He knocked once on the door before walking into the room. There was no light but Niall was used to it by then so he knew how to find his way to the bed in the pitch black.

Niall gently put the tray down on the bedside table and slowly began opening the curtains; letting some light in. Caroline groaned and slowly sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes.

Niall set the tray onto her lap and she glared at the food before glaring at him. She grabbed her fork and began eating the food slowly, staring up into Niall's deep blue eyes.

"I don't have any chores for you yet but be around here by noon; I'll have plenty by then," she said in between bites.

Niall nodded and forced himself not to roll his eyes right then and there. he walked back out and went to go get the next tray - Zayn's food.

Zayn was a very picky eater so Niall always had to bend-over-backwards and cook him something else other than Harry and Caroline's. Personally Niall thought sometimes that Zayn was worse than the wicked stepmum herself - which was pretty hard to beat.

Thanks to Zayn; Niall almost got caught that night. He was very tricky and mysterious; it was hard to hide anything from Zayn without him figuring it out somehow along the way.

Niall walked right in, knowing Zayn was fully awake. He would sleep-in during the weekdays but surprisingly during the weekend; he was quite the early bird.

Niall set down his special meal on the table and noticed Zayn was on Facebook. Not only that; there was a picture of Niall in his Prince Charming outfit, fleeing away in the photograph.

Niall held in a gasp and pretended to look clueless, staring at the picture. Zayn groaned to himself and zoomed in on the picture.

"He's not even that good looking right Niall?" Zayn asked in a rather small voice, sounding a bit jealous. "I'm much better looking than him."

Niall felt his cheeks flush and his heart dropped. he quickly put the hurt feelings away and nodded to keep his cover going. "Who is it anyways?"

"Nobody really knows-" Niall sighed of relief as he heard that. "but look."

Zayn clicked on the picture and enlarged it, zooming in on Liam's face. Niall gasped at what he saw; Liam's facial expression was absolutely priceless and Niall felt like he couldn't believe his eyes!

Liam's mouth was half-open, his eyes were wide and so were his pupils. His face looked shocked but there was also some sort of determination on his face. He looked at Niall - Prince Charming - as if he wanted to run up and stop him right away and pour his heart out.

The biggest shock to Niall was what was in Liam's hand. He was holding a cell phone tightly in his hand, not just any cell phone; Niall's cell phone that he had lost that night.

"Do you think maybe Liam might be gay?" Zayn asked, already one step ahead of everything as usual.

Niall seemed shocked to hear the question come out of his stepbrother's mouth. He turned to Zayn and opened his mouth but closed it quickly not even a second later. He looked back at the picture, still shocked.

"But what about Cher?" Niall pretended to play dumb.

Zayn waved his hands as if to say it was nothing and laughed. "They broke up before the dance, plus apparently now Cher likes this Prince Charming guy that everyone seems to be obsessed over." Zayn was definitely jealous, it was completely obvious.

Niall's eyes opened wide and he practically choked on his own spit. Cher, had a crush on him?! The girl who made fun of him at every chance she got - which was quite a lot of chances, sometimes even multiple times a day.

"Well I still have to go give your brother his breakfast so bye," Niall said quickly and ran out of the room, feeling as if he was suffocating in there.

Zayn glared at the empty door and his mind went into his detective mode. Something was very odd, Niall wasn't acting like his usual self that morning and Zayn could tell right away.

And since when did he save Harry for last? Niall always went from not bad to the worst so Harry was usually the first to receive his breakfast. Something must have happened ... and Zayn was going to get to the bottom of it and figure everything out; just like he always did.

\- - -

Niall got the last tray and took a deep breath; feeling not yet ready to face Harry. He felt as if things were awkward between them yet Harry didn't even have a clue to how Niall felt.

Niall didn't even get a chance to talk to Louis before he had to face his stepbrother. Every step he took upstairs, he dreaded his life more and more; wanting it to already be over.

He finally got upstairs and went into the bedroom. He was surprised to see the lights were not lit - that was definitely a first for Harry.

Niall walked in and set the tray down. He went over to the blinds and pulled them up; letting light into Harry's room. Harry shot up quickly and opened his eyes, saying, "Superman?!"

Niall winced at the word and walked over. Harry's curls were messed up from the bed and he still had a groggy voice; something Niall had never seen before. Niall was so used to Harry being up as well so it was a shock to him that morning.

"No, it's just me," Niall replied, setting the tray onto Harry's lap gently.

Harry looked up and sighed softly, his green eyes looking innocent as a little baby. he ran a hand through his curls, just making them worse.

"Um, did you happen to see a boy in a Superman outfit walking into Nando's before we walked into the restaurant?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"No sorry," Niall replied awkwardly.

Things were getting way too close for comfort for Niall. He just wanted to get out of the bedroom as soon as humanly possible but Harry wouldn't let that happen; he still had more questions.

"Do you know anyone with nice light blue eyes and brownish-caramel-colour hair?" Harry asked as Niall got up from sitting down on the side of the bed.

The blond froze in place and all his muscles tensed up. Oh Louis was so going to get the talk of his life that day. How could Louis betray him like that?! Why didn't he at least confess his feeling; best friends were supposed to tell each other everything!

"Not that I can think of," Niall lied. "Harry I wasn't even at the dance-" Another lie. "so I can't be much help lad, sorry."

The guilt was eating Niall alive but he had to talk to Louis first before telling or spilling anything to Harry. He needed to first figure it out himself because he was so lost and confused and hurt.

Harry's face made Niall die a bit inside. He looked so upset and glum; he had looked so hopeful and he had sparks in his eyes before Niall had to go and ruin everything. The sparks were gone by then and he had lost most of his hope.

Niall felt horrible and he sighed softly to himself. Harry had never done anything bad to the blond personally and Harry always gave him a good laugh whilst trying to dance every weekday.

Niall shook his head and tried to let every thought disappear out of his mind. He had delivered the food and that's all he needed to do at that moment. He began walking out but conscience stopped him at the door.

"Harry," Niall sighed, not turning back to look at his face as he was about to ask the question.

"Yeah?"

"Do you love him ... this Superman you're talking about - do you love him?"

Silence remained between the two boys and Niall stood there patiently, waiting for an answer. He understood how hard it was to admit being gay but it was just one person; it wasn't like it was the entire school.

"Yeah, I do love him" Harry said, his cheeks flushing a deep shade of red as he grinned bashfully.

Niall sighed and walked out. Louis was beyond dead.

\- - -

Louis felt a soft pillow hit his head rather hard and he groaned in his sleep, shuffling in his warm bed. He was trying to sleep and dream about Harry, he didn't want to be waken up any time soon because of that.

"Get up idiot!"

Another pillow hit him straight in the face and Louis' eyes shot open. He groaned and slowly sat up, noticing a very upset Niall. Oh shit, he knew.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Niall yelled, his cheeks red with anger.

"Niall let me explain-"

"MY BEST FRIEND AND MY STEPBROTHER?! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THIS?!" the blond yelled furiously, rage in his system.

"I-I'm sorry it just sort of happened," Louis stammered, explaining sheepishly. "I just fell for him one day and I've been keeping it inside of me ever since that day, I'm sorry Niall."

"KEEPING IT INSIDE?! MAKING OUT WITH HIM IS KEEPING IT INSIDE?!" Niall was boiling red and to be honest it was sort of frightening Louis.

"Other than that night, I've never made a move on him I swear," Louis promised. "He doesn't even know I exist..."

"Well he does now," Niall laughed bitterly, still upset. "That's all he could freaking ask about this morning: Superman this, Superman that. He asked me if I might know who he was and I had to lie to him, I had to lie to Harry."

Louis' eyes widened and his heartbeat accelerated. Harry was still thinking about him?! Maybe Curly felt the same way towards Louis as Louis did towards him? Could life really be that kind to him?

"Hello?!" Niall fumed, snapping Louis back into reality.

"Oh um, yeah?" Louis asked, his mind still a bit out of it as his cheeks turned red.

That made Niall even more angry and he yelled out his pain and anger. Louis jumped in shock and Niall stopped, his chest rising and falling as he panted. He clenched his fists up and unclenched; repeating that several times to try and calm himself down. He tried to speak but he could only mumble out a few syllables at a time so it was hard to understand.

His voice suddenly broke and the anger disappeared from his face. He looked hurt and sad; betrayed. The hurt look on his face and in his eyes absolutely killed Louis inside.

"Why didn't you just tell me Lou...," Niall's voice went really small, going even smaller with every new word.

Louis felt horrible and the guilt was eating him alive inside. He quickly got out of his bed and hugged the blond tightly, letting out all his emotions in the power of the hug.

Niall sighed and didn't hug back - but he didn't exactly pull away either which was a good sign. He simply rested his head against Louis' striped shirt and sighed to himself.

"Best friends are supposed to tell each other everything Lou-" Lou, his nickname! That must have been a good sign if Niall was already using the nickname ... right? "I'm not even mad about you two being together or whatever you call it. Sure it grosses me out but I'm not mad because of that. I'm angry because you never told me." Niall shoved his best friend's chest rather harshly, still having a lost drop of anger inside of him.

Louis sighed and squeezed one more time into the hug before he pulled away and looked into those hurt deep blue eyes. Louis sighed and ran his hand through his crazy bedhead hair.

"I'm sorry Nialler," he sighed. "I never knew how to tell you and I thought he would never even like my back so there was no point in telling you."

"Not that you deserve to know this right now but Lou; Harry loves you!"

And just then, Louis felt his whole world just stop. He gasped and clutched his heart, feeling as if he couldn't breathe. Could it be true? Was Louis still dreaming or was that actually reality?

Niall laughed, slowly going back to his old peppy self. He smirked at Louis' reaction to what he had said and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Yes Louis, that's what I said and no I'm not joking." Niall's smile vanished and his serious face appeared. "Harry does love you, I asked him this morning lad."

Louis remained quiet for a few moments and he finally caught onto some of his own words, gulping first.

"Oh my god."

Niall chuckled and patted Louis' back comfortingly. Louis sighed and sadness filled into him very quickly. Niall frowned and didn't understand what had just happened in the past few seconds.

"He loves Superman, not Louis," he sighed and looked down at the ground sadly.

Niall softened up to the maximum and hugged Louis tightly. Louis hugged back but his heart just wasn't into it. He felt very depressed all of a sudden and he just wanted to go back into his warm bed.

"You don't know that Lou," Niall said softly.

"Let's face it, I'm no Liam Payne," Louis mumbled.

Niall's cheeks flushed and it was his turn for his heartbeat to speed up. He grinned at just the thought of him and it made his cheeks flush even more than before. His heart pounded and he felt a bit dizzy. Who knew just thinking about Liam could make Niall feel like that?

"Sorry Niall," Louis said, apologizing for everything and also bringing up Liam's name into the conversation.

"It's fine and Louis, you'll never know if Harry likes you for you if you don't try," Niall encouraged him, smiling a bit.

Louis sighed and groaned. "Oh yeah, how about you and Liam huh?"

Niall blushed and shook his head quickly, his vision becoming blurry. He stopped and said, "That's different Lou, I know he wouldn't like me for me. Remember? I'm Nando's boy..."

"Well," Louis smirked. "You never know if you don't try..."


	9. Chapter Eight

"Here's your daily reminder," Cedar said into the microphone, broadcasting it across the entire school. "Liam Payne was one of the costume winners at the dance on Friday – big shocker there–"

"Cedar," the teacher gasped, still not used to her bluntness in her every sentence, even though it had been like that ever since she began working for the school's radio system.

Cedar merely sighed and rolled her eyes; school wasn't for her and she didn't care about it one bit. She needed to get her community hours done and what better way than get them during school?

"But the real mystery; who was Prince Charming?" Cedar finished, shutting off the radio system.

\- - -

"So how long are you grounded for lad?" Niall asked, biting on his bottom lip and looking at his best friend.

"Well till I die so basically, forever," Louis sighed and kicked a rock on the pavement, relieving his anger into the kick.

The conversation was beginning to bum him out a bit so he put a smile on his face and changed the subject quickly.

"So are you going to do anything about Liam?" Louis grinned.

"Ha," Niall laughed. "Like what? I'm no one to him Louis, he's probably forgotten all about Prince Charming by now. I'm no one important, to him or to anyone at this school actually."

Louis began to argue with that statement but Niall gave him his famous death glare so Louis dropped the subject.

"So you're really not going to tell him?" Louis sighed.

"There's nothing to tell," Niall exclaimed. "It's not like I'll just go up to him and say 'Hey I'm Prince Charming and you have my phone.' and he'll  _instantly_  fall for me and we'll live happily gay after."

Louis let out a small chuckle at the "happily gay after" saying Niall had said. The blond always tended to overreact, especially when it came to boys, or basically love in general.

Niall shoved Louis' chest and huffed, he was being serious! And Louis was just laughing at him. Niall sighed and ran his hand through his blond locks, staring at the ground and chewing gently on his bottom lip.

"Just drop it Louis," he sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets of his jeans.

"Fine I'll–" Louis gasped, cutting himself off in his own sentence. He looked around and noticed they were everywhere; practically spamming the entire school with those little papers.

The flyers were all around the school and they all had the same content on each one. It was a white paper with a black shadow on it; the shadow was a figure of a boy. There was a small white question mark over the figure and above it, in big bold letters, stood out: Prince Charming?

Louis slowly walked over to one of the many flyers and Niall gasped, finally noticing and realizing it himself. Louis held in his huge smirk and read it out loud for it to sink through Niall's head.

"Prince Charming from the dance on last Friday – I believe I have something that belongs to you. If you want it back please come and find me. I'll be waiting until then, Liam."

"So, you were saying he forgot all about you huh?" Louis smirked, looking over to a very shocked Niall.

\- - -

"Jesus man, why put so much effort for just some guy?" Andy asked, following Liam as he continued walking around the school.

Liam had arrived at school extra early to put up the many many flyers he had made over the weekend. Not only did he want to give the cell phone back to its rightful owner; he wanted to find out the face and name behind the rightful owner.

"He's not just some guy, okay? He was real; different...," Liam smiled to himself, just thinking about Prince Charming gave Liam shivers all over. "A guy who knew where he's actually going in life."

"Real," Andy repeated, trying to get it through his mind because it made absolutely no sense to him. "Like he knew what job he was going to get for this summer?"

Liam rolled his eyes and that was exactly  _why_  Liam knew that guy was more than just "some guy". He was special and Liam realized that right away. Liam had to find out who it was, he wanted the constant torture to end already.

"No," Liam sighed, he didn't quite know how to explain it to his friends. "He actually listened to me."

"Hey I listen to you okay? I feel your pain my friend–"

"Well–"

"Look, you found his cell phone, why not just try and find something from that, yeah?" Andy finished, interrupting Liam from his sentence.

"That's rude and horrible . . . plus it's locked," Liam's cheeks reddened and he looked down at the ground sheepishly.

Yes, the torture was killing him so much so he tried to see who the cell phone belonged to but it was locked. Liam felt awful after he realized what he had tried to do and the guilt poured into him immediately.

"But the phone keeps sending messages like, 'I need you.' and, 'Come see me now.'–"

"Dude that's hot," Andy smirked, being the more immature one of the group of friends.

"Then I got a message that said 'Come fix fryer'," Liam admitted sheepishly and blushed.

"Oh wow, hot stuff there mate," Andy grinned.

Liam couldn't help but laugh and sigh to himself, shaking his head slowly. He truly needed to find out who Prince Charming was, it was killing him on the inside and the more the hours passed; the more determinated he felt.

\- - -

"He's looking for you everywhere Nialler, just tell him it was you," Louis sighed and pat his back a little, hoping to encourage him and convince the blond.

"Can't I just leave it at what could have been?" Niall groaned, not wanting to confess and say it was him at that point. "Instead of ruining it all in reality and having to never show my face again in public?"

"You can't hide from him forever," Louis sighed. "I hope you know that mate, it's impossible to do that."

"Not forever . . . just until I go to X Factor and nothing will matter by then anymore," Niall sighed and his mind wandered back to X Factor, he was so looking forward to it.

Louis sighed and Niall turned to him, raising his blond eyebrows. "And what about  _you_ , Superman? When are you going to tell Harry that it's actually you? You can't hide from him forever." He smirked as he mimicked his best friend.

"Okay," Louis thought aloud about it for a moment and sighed, not having a single response to Niall's question.

"The day you tell Harry it was you, I'll tell Liam it was me," Niall sighed, instantly regretting saying that out loud.

"Deal?" Louis asked.

Niall smiled sheepishly and looked at Louis' held out hand. He gladly took it and shook it, smiling up at his best friend.

"Deal."

\- - -

"Look in the yearbook again," Andy suggested. "Maybe he's a foreign exchange or something and you missed him."

Liam sighed and shook his head sadly. "There's no way I missed him, we had a connection Andy. It was truly special."

Andy rolled his eyes playfully and muttered, "Whatever you say, I personally think it'd be worth a shot checking it again."

"I've already looked through the same yearbook over five times in the past three days," Liam groaned, gripping his hair with his hands and sighing, looking down at the ground without muttering a word.

"You'll find him Liam," Andy encouraged him and smiled. "There's only so many people in this school, it won't be like this forever, I promise mate."

\- - -

"And 5, 6, 7, 8," the dance coach shouted out.

Zayn began dancing and twirled over to the left. Since Harry wasn't really paying attention, Harry went on the wrong side and bumped right into Zayn. Harry pulled away and grinned sheepishly, muttering a little 'sorry'.

Zayn groaned and pulled away. It was the second time that the boys rehearsed as their usual morning routine but Harry kept on screwing it up, multiple times in just one thirty minute set.

Zayn was passed the pissed-off phase, he was even beyond furious by then. It was as if Harry wasn't even the same person anymore. More than fifteen years they had been related – Zayn had never seen Harry act like that before the past few days.

"Okay enough," he yelled out. "You're acting like a completely different person and I don't like it, you need to stop now."

"You can't tell me what I can or can't do Zayn," Harry grinned. "It's my life and I can do whatever I want."

"Oh really, does mom know what  _really_  happened at the dance at school on Friday?" Zayn smirked. "Since when does Superman and Spiderman hook up? Last time I checked; there was nothing since it never happened."

Harry gulped and froze in place. Oh no, how could Zayn know?! How did he figure it out so quickly and when did he even see them?! Harry was in deep trouble and both of them knew it.

\- - -

Harry managed to deny it – not that Zayn believed him anyways – and he escaped when Zayn wasn't looking. He got his stuff ready and drove quickly to the school, wanting to escape.

Harry had other friends beside his twin brother so he went to go hang out with them; needing a big break from his annoying – and evil – older twin. His friends were the perfect solution and they would help Harry get his mind off of him in no time at all.

His friends knew he was gay so he was excited to tell them all about what happened on Friday at the school dance. He walked over to them and did his usual greetings.

"Hey guys," he smiled.

"Hey Harry, so how was the dance?" one of his friends asked him and smiled, all of his friends eager nodding; wanting to know every detail.

Harry blushed and grinned sheepishly. He told them  _everything_  that happened, even the part that happened at Nando's when he unexpectedly ran into Superman and once again, Superman was his hero.

"He was so mysterious yet so manly, I felt safe in his arms, it was amazing," he finished explaining and blushed deeply.

"Well who is it?!" his friends grinned.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," Harry mumbled, looking up at the blue sky and sighing, wishing he knew.

\- - -

"And you're sure you want to do this lad?" Niall asked, shocked by his best friend's impulsive courage.

"Yeah, I need to tell him," Louis sighed.

It had only been a day since they returned to school and Louis was already dying. He had to tell Harry that it was him and he had to do it fast. Harry said it was okay as long as it wasn't Olly right? So Louis was in . . . right?

"Good luck," Niall smiled softly.

Louis nodded and walked over to Harry's direction. Suddenly, Niall's heart stopped and his deep blue eyes opened wide. He had just thought of something that made him dread his life.

If Louis was going to tell Harry that it was him . . . that meant that Niall had to tell Liam that he was Prince Charming. Oh yeah, that was going to be so much fun . . . not.


	10. Chapter Nine

 

"Then I kissed him quickly one last time before running into the car because my mom was calling me," Harry grinned sheepishly, blushing just at the thought of what happened on that Friday night.

"I'm so happy for you Harry," one of his friends grinned.

Louis sighed and walked over to them. He put a big smile on his face and tried to hide his nervous side. He said, "Hey guys."

"Who are you?" Harry squinted, looking deeply into those blue eyes.

Something seemed oddly familiar about the blue-eyed tan boy for Harry. He couldn't quite who it was exactly but Harry knew it that it wasn't just some random boy from school.

"The man in the cape; your hero for the night," Louis tried to jog his memory, using his Superman voice to help out even more.

Harry's eyes opened wide and he was completely shocked. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Harry's friends were super confused and all looked at each other; trying to understand what was going on.

"Harry, wh-what-"

"I don't know," Harry finally spoke, interrupting his friends. "Sorry guys, just give me a minute."

Harry grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him to a little corner outside of school where no one could see them. He had Louis practically up against a wall and he was squinting right into Louis' eyes.

"Who are you?" Harry repeated.

"I told you, the man in the-"

"No, you look very familiar," Harry interrupted, trying to think of who that boy resembled as.

What did Niall's friend look like again? Harry had seen them together sometimes but he never really payed attention to the details. Wasn't his name Louis or something like that?

"You're my stepbrother's friend," he snapped his fingers, figuring it out and slowly pulling away.

"Louis," the tan boy clarified. "But I'm not just him, I'm also Superman - as I have told you a few times before."

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. That was low, even for his so-called twin. Could Zayn never give Harry a break?! Not even for one day!? Not just that; that was very rude and it hurt Harry's feelings that Zayn was messing with him with something that meant so much to him.

"I know Zayn put you up to this. I'd rather you not tell anyone about this Superman and I'm sorry but it's not you Louis. You should go back to Niall or something b-"

A pair of lips crashed down against Harry. Harry was about to pull away immediately and shove him when, something hit him. The lips; they felt so familiar - the same pair of lips he had kissed three other times.

Harry gasped in the kiss but then quickly kissed back; not wasting any time. He kissed back deeply; letting his lips join in on the fun. Harry felt relieved as their kiss got its usual heat and intensity.

Suddenly, it hit Harry; they were practically making out, at school, not in costume. Not only that, Harry was kissing his stepbrother's best friend!

He quickly pulled away and looked at the ground with a shocked look on his face. He couldn't believe that he had just done that without even thinking of the consequences. Harry felt guilt crawl into him and he groaned, running a hand through his curls.

"I can't do this ... you're my stepbrother's best friend! Niall already dislikes me enough as it is mate," he sighed miserably, hating the fact that anyone could dislike him.

"He says you're the least worst Curly," Louis replied with a very small voice.

Harry's head shot up at the word 'Curly' and he gasped. Louis was definitely Superman, there was simply no doubt about it. Harry didn't know if he should be happy that he finally found Superman or upset because Superman turned out to be his stepbrother's best friend - and practically only friend.

Before Louis, no on had ever called him Curly before. It was a very original nickname and Harry had never heard anything like it beforehand. If it came from anybody else, Harry would probably hate it and beg for them not to call him that. But there was something special about Louis, and Harry absolutely loved it!

"But still, Niall would go bonkers," Harry sighed.

Harry actually wasn't as cold-hearted as most people thought. Most people assumed since Zayn was rude; that Harry was rude. And not many people gave little Harry a chance to prove that he wasn't like his slightly-older twin. It bugged Harry but there wasn't really anything he could do about it.

Truth be told, Harry was actually very thankful towards Niall - even Niall knew it! He would almost always thank Niall for making breakfast, lunch, dinner and doing the laundry and much more. He wouldn't act like it usually around Zayn because he was afraid but alone; Harry was a huge sweetheart.

"He already knows about us, he's in his own sticky situation so he understands. He knows I'm here with you right now actually," Louis explained sheepishly and blushed a bit.

Harry remained silent and he was shocked from everything Louis had just told him. He didn't get what Louis meant about Niall's situation but he shoved it away at the moment and focus on the other words.

Did that mean Niall would be okay with them? How would the school be okay with them? There were no gays - not that Harry knew of anyways - at school so it would be a shock for everyone.

"Curly?" Louis asked in yet another small voice.

Harry looked up and his eyes got stuck onto the soft blue eyes that made his heart melt from the beginning. He gulped and he still had no idea how they would work anything out or if they would even be a couple.

All Harry knew at that moment was that he really wanted to kiss Louis' soft lips again ... so he did.

\- - -

"I don't know about this guys," Liam sighed, feeling awkward and very uncomfortable right then and there.

"Come on mate," Andy sighed. "Just trust us, please We asked everyone if they were with you at the dance. So these are the people who said yes, it has to be one of them!"

Liam looked up and noticed it was just girls. He groaned and sighed; maybe his friends forgot that he told them he was gay. That just proved right there that his friends didn't actually listen to them. Prince Charming did ... and Liam knew for a fact that he wasn't in the group of girls all in a line.

"Guys come on," Liam groaned. "You don't get it. Remember what I told you on Friday before the dance at Nando's? I'm-"

"Sit down here," his other friend interrupted and sat him down on a chair outside of the school.

"No I-"

"Liam, introduce me on the cell," Andy said.

Liam sighed and he had absolutely no idea why, but he slowly passed his cell phone to his best friend.

"Here's bachelorette number one," his friend said like an actual announcer. "Likes traveling, reading and eating chocolate. She's British and comes from London, here's Chantal!"

"Hello Chantal," Liam smiled politely. "I'm terribly sorry you wasted your time on this, thanks for coming."

Chantal nodded and smiled before slowly walking away. Liam groaned and noticed how long the line was; it was going to take forever to finish all of them. It was such a waste of time; Liam knew for a fact it was none of them.

"Let's bring bachelorette number two," the friend continued. "She's-"

"Enough enough," a teacher yelled out and ran over to them. "Stop this right now, I said stop it!"

"You're beautiful love but sadly, I'm not your prince. You'll meet him someday but it's not me," Liam said to the girl.

She smiled and mumbled 'Thanks Liam' before she walked away as well just like Chantal had.

"Andy stop it right now," the teacher exclaimed. "You're supposed to be in class, all of you are supposed to be in class! And that's a horrible shirt."

Andy looked down at his shirt and frowned, making Liam laugh under his breath. Andy turned to Liam and glared so Liam shut up and looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"Back to your classes," the teacher exclaimed.

All the girls groaned and walked back into school with glum looks on their faces. That was a complete waste of time, Liam thought to himself.

\- - -

Caroline was at home, looking through all her mail she had received. She had a lot to look through and she would just toss away the unimportant or uninteresting ones.

"Don't want that, don't want that, ew, no way ... what the...."

Caroline came across a letter that had a red X on the right top side of the envelope. Even weirder; it was addressed to a certain 'Niall Horan'. Caroline was shocked to find out it was from X Factor. She quickly ripped it open and began reading the letter that wasn't rightfully hers.

"Niall got accepted for an audition?!" she shrieked. "Oh no no no, this simply won't do..."

Caroline re-read it a few more times and each time, it said the same thing. How could that even be?! Niall had a horrible voice and he was flat. She heard footsteps so she quickly hid the letter under a nice big pillow. She pretended to keep looking through the mail.

"Hey," Niall walked over. "Is there anything in the mail for me?"

"Yes actually," Caroline grinned and passed him a junk mail letter. "There's actually a letter here saying that you just won a million dollars. Don't spend it all in one place honey."

Niall rolled his eyes and set the letter back down with all the other junk mail. Of course Caroline would do something like that; Niall was stupid to have even asked her and expect her to take him seriously.

\- - -

Anonymous: I need to know who you are, I can't take my mind off of you ... please tell me who you are.

Niall looked at the computer screen and sighed softly. He took a deep breath and thought back about the deal he had made with Lois. Louis had completed his part so it was Niall's turn to complete his. Niall had to tell Liam who he truly was; he couldn't hide behind Prince Charming forever.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he began to type out a small little sentence saying 'My name is-

"Niall," Zayn exclaimed, bursting into Niall's attic-bedroom.

"Did you not see the 'Do Not Disturb' sign?" Niall grumbled, annoyed and not wanting to have to deal with Zayn at the moment.

"No I saw it," Zayn smirked. "I just chose to ignore it. Anyways, are you almost done with my report? It's due this Friday you know."

"I'm working on it," Niall mumbled.

"Well hurry up with it," the older twin snapped. "It makes me anxious to have to wait for it."

"Then imagine how nervous you'd be if you actually had to write it," Niall muttered under his breath.

Zayn heard that and rolled his eyes. Niall was not subtle at all so Zayn heard every time Niall made a snarky comment.

"You're so right," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "So this time try to make it sound more like me okay? I'm so tired of having to explain why I only sound smart on paper."

"Niall can you come downstairs?" Caroline asked but it sounded more like an order, as it always did.

Niall mentally groaned and turned back to his computer, looking at his typed words and how he still hadn't managed to write his name just yet. "I'll be right there Caroline, just give me a few minutes!"

"Now," Caroline exclaimed impatiently.

Niall groaned out loud that time and looked at Zayn who had a huge smirk on his face. Niall did everything in his power not to roll his eyes, which was very hard for him. Zayn had definitely inherited his mother's personality.

"I'll be right back," Niall said.

"Hurry," Zayn snapped and crossed his arms.

Niall left and Zayn noticed his laptop screen was still open; just left there for anyone to read - like Zayn. He walked over to it and began reading the IMs between him and some person.

"Who is Anonymous?!" Zayn exclaimed to himself, so lost.

Anonymous: Prince Charming, are you not talking to me because you freaked when you found out that I'm Liam Payne?

Zayn's eyes grew wide and he gasped. He had not seen that coming at all! Zayn thought he was always on top of things but he had definitely missed that one - and what a huge one it was.

Niall was Prince Charming?!


	11. Chapter Ten

"Oh my god," Liam gasped, reading his letter he received from X Factor. "I got in?! I got into the auditions!"

"Liam," his dad, Geoff, called out. "What's going on around here?" He looked around in his son's room.

"Nothing," Liam said quickly, hiding the letter under the covers of his bed, hoping his dad wouldn't notice it.

Luckily for him, his dad didn't notice the letter or when he hid it. Either way, Geoff walked over and sighed softly, putting a hand on Liam's shoulder and stared into his son's eyes.

"Let me guess, you're thinking about university and wondering if football university is right for you?" he said.

"Actually yeah," Liam spoke up a bit. "I've found myself thinking about it a lot lately and–"

"Don't worry about it Liam. You're making the right choice, okay?" Geoff sighed, wishing it would run through Liam's head already instead of him always having to constantly repeat it.

"Okay," Liam mumbled softly.

It was easier for Liam just to agree with his dad than to disagree and get in a huge fight with him. So that's what Liam did just like every other time his dad would bring up football; he agreed.

\- - -

Zayn was so pissed off that Niall lied and got away with it; he was absolutely furious. He wanted to get revenge on the blond so he decided he would pretend to be Prince Charming.

Zayn drove his car over to where Liam worked and waited for Liam to walk over. Liam walked over and smiled politely at the customer. He realized it was someone from school – Zayn, was his name? – so he felt a bit more easygoing.

"Liam," Zayn grinned, putting on his very best act he would always use to seduce people. "You found me, it's me. I'm Prince Charming."

"Oh no," Liam groaned, not falling for it for even one second.

"You see Liam," Zayn continued, not even feeling any guilt whatsoever while he continued. "I live in this world, pretending. I don't want full of people to be pretending to be something they're not."

"I get it," Liam sighed, forcing himself to not roll his eyes and tried to keep positive thoughts into his mind.

"How are you mate?" Zayn asked, hiding his famous smirk.

"Good," Liam replied with no emotions.

"That's what Prince Charming would want you know," Zayn smiled.

"Regular wash?"

"No," Zayn batted his eyelashes. "More like the Royal Treatment."

"Liam, don't believe it," Harry cried out, getting out of the car and running over to them as quick as he could.

What the...?

\- - -

"Lou, what did you mean when you told me the other day about Niall having his own situation like us?" Harry asked, confused.

Both boys were in Harry's car; hiding out from the world. They were both in the driver's seat and they were cuddling up to each other. Harry was practically in Louis' lap; not that neither of them minded.

They still didn't know if they were dating or not but couldn't keep their hands off of each other – or in that case; their lips was more the correct term.

"You can't tell  _anyone_  Curly," Louis sighed and Harry nodded eagerly, wanting to hear the full story.

"Well you know Prince Charming?"

"Oh yeah," Harry grinned sheepishly. "The sexy prince that was at the dance on Friday? He was hot; what about him?"

Louis pouted and Harry simply laughed, gently running his hand over Lou's cheek and told him that he'd always be his favourite boy.

"Well Prince Charming is Niall," Louis explained.

"WHAT?!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes widening. " _Ew_  I called my stepbrother  _sexy_?! That's gross on so many levels!"

Louis burst out laughing and clutched his stomach; close to tears of joy. That was priceless and Louis would always remember that very moment. Louis thought it was the most funniest thing that ever happened in his entire life.

After Harry finally got over being grossed out, his mind was stuck on what Zayn had muttered under his breath that morning.

"Payback time Niall, even if Liam won't buy it."

What the heck did that even mean?! Was Zayn going to do something with Liam and Niall? That made no sense to Harry and his mind was deep in thought, trying to figure it out.

Harry gasped and suddenly; it all made sense to him!

Somehow Zayn must have found out himself about Niall and he was going to pretend to be Prince Charming. Harry knew Liam would be way too smart to buy it but who knew what Zayn would do?!

Harry furiously stepped on the gas as quick as possible and Louis scrambled to go to the passenger seat. He quickly buckled his seat belt and nervously eyed the determined boy driving.

"Where are we going?" Louis asked.

"We're going to stop Zayn. Zayn may be trying to ruin my life, but he has  _no_  right to be ruining Niall's!"

\- - -

"Liam don't listen to him, it's all a lie," Harry exclaimed, running over to a very shocked and surprised Liam.

"Please don't start Harry," Liam groaned, thinking Harry was going to say that it was him. "I know that Prince Charming is Irish so that cancels you out as well mate."

"What?! No," Harry exclaimed, confused. "I sort of . . . have . . . someone, er – either way it doesn't matter! Don't listen to anything Zayn says."

Zayn got out of his car and stomped over to Benedict Arnold – a.k.a Harry, his own freaking twin!

"What the hell are you doing!?" Zayn hissed.

"You are not Prince Charming," Harry said firmly, finally standing up for himself to Zayn.

"But I am," Zayn continued lying even though it was useless. He grinned at Liam and continued, "Ask me anything and I'll answer it."

"Okay," Liam sighed, rubbing his temples. "He dropped something that night when he left; what was it?"

"His wallet," Zayn replied right away.

"Nope," Liam said, popping the 'p'.

"A fish," Harry exclaimed.

Both of the other boys looked at him very oddly. Sometimes Zayn wished his twin was switched at birth or something with someone else. He was embarrassed to call Harry his twin sometimes.

"See?" Harry asked. "That's how irrelevant your answer was. Liam knows it's not you so just leave him alone."

Zayn threw his hands up angrily and stomped away. Harry smirked and crossed his arms, turning to Liam and giving him an apologetic look, trying to say sorry on his older twin's behalf.

"Thanks Harry," Liam smiled, truly appreciating it.

"No problem, happy to help!"

Harry began walking away when Liam grabbed his wrist, making him turn around. Harry was shocked and he said, "Yes?"

"Um do you know who Prince Charming is?" Liam asked sheepishly, letting go of Harry's wrist and scratching the back of his head, trying not to blush.

Harry thought it was so cute how Liam was getting all flustered over his stepbrother; it was adorable. Too bad Niall wasn't there to witness it, he would absolutely love it!

"I do, but it's not my place to tell you. He'll tell you when he's ready Liam, I promise," Harry smiled.

\- - -

Zayn was about to get into his car when he stopped short. Since when did he ever let  _Harry_  win?! That wasn't how things were supposed to go and Zayn wasn't going to leave it at that.

Zayn stomped back over and noticed Liam had just left Harry alone there. Zayn smirked to himself; perfect timing.

"What the hell was that Harry?!" Zayn exclaimed, walking over. "You just completely ruined everything and spoiled my plan!"

"You know what?! You've been bullying me for years because you're a minute and twenty six seconds older but I'm  _done_  with this now! I'm not your little lapdog anymore Zayn, I have my own life now," Harry exclaimed, letting everything out and off his chest.

Zayn growled, he couldn't _believe_ his own twin had just told him all of that. He closed the gap between them and growled, "You're dead Harry, do you hear me?  _Dead_ _._ "

Zayn pushed Harry and they began wrestling each other while still moving backwards. Harry jumped onto a car but Zayn wouldn't back down. He jumped on the car as well and pinned Harry down on top of the car.

They felt the water hit them and they looked around, noticing they were in a car wash. Harry tried to get out of Zayn's grip but it was too hard; he was way too strong for Harry.

"Zayn get  _off_ ," Harry exclaimed.

"No, you're absolutely, most definitely, the worst twin a guy could ever have," Zayn yelled, shoving him and gripping tight; hurting Harry.

Harry yelped in pain and Zayn smirked. Zayn took a hand off of Harry and made a fist, getting ready to punch Harry right in the face. Harry winced and closed his eyes, his heart practically beating out of his chest.

Suddenly, the car door opened and an arm was held out. Zayn was shocked and looked down at the tan hand. Harry opened his eyes and noticed that Zayn was busy staring at something else.

"Harry get in," a familiar called out.

Harry looked at the car and noticed it was his. Louis went to give the car a wash? What a cute little weirdo Harry had found for himself. He was happy though and he wouldn't trade Louis in for anything.

Harry took his hand and got pulled into the car. Louis quickly shut the door and locked the car right away; leaving Zayn out there all alone to deal with the car wash.

"You okay mate?" Louis frowned, cupping Harry's face gently.

Luckily Louis had pulled him in before the soap came so Harry was just soaking wet. He was freezing and shivering, slowly nodding his head. Harry was scared though, he seriously thought Zayn was going to throw a punch at him – which he probably would have.

Louis frowned and pulled out a huge blanket Harry had in the backseat of his car. He wrapped it all around Harry and ran a hand through his soft, damp curls. He then ran a finger up against Harry's cheek and gasped at the contact.

"Curly you're freezing," he gasped.

He pulled Harry into the driver's seat with him and wrapped his arms around the blanket. Harry rested his head into Louis' chest, still shivering and still quite frightened. Louis knew how shocked and traumatized Harry must have been from seeing the unknown side of Zayn. Zayn was bad yes, but never  _that_  bad.

Louis sighed and rubbed Harry's back gently; Harry didn't deserve that whatsoever. Louis was glad that he had heard sounds coming from the top of the roof and he was glad he could pull Harry back. Who knew what Zayn could have done to poor Hazza?

\- - -

Zayn groaned and then the soap hit right onto him. He felt all gooey and grossed; he got drenched by the very wet and soapy liquids. Zayn yelped and screamed in fury. Of course, no one could hear him so he was screaming for absolutely no reason at all.

The turning machines approached and Zayn tried to avoid them as best as he could. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick enough so he got hit quite a few times by the turning machines to spread the soap in.

Then the icy cold water splashed and drenched Zayn completely. He was soaked from head to toe and he screamed, which got him water in his mouth. He choked a bit and coughed, trying to breathe.

Just when he thought the torture was finally over, the dryers came down and began gliding up on him. The machines were very rough and rugged so it hurt like crazy. He groaned and the dryers were hurting him. He sighed but held in his tears; being as brave and as strong as he could without cracking.

Finally, the car was out of there. Zayn tumbled off the car and fell flat on the ground, wincing at the pain. He then got up and looked around. As he did so, he caught his reflection in the mirror and gasped.

All his clothes were ruined and even a bit ripped but what was the most shocking thing to him was his hair. It was no longer up in the usual beautiful coif, but all demented and all over; some on his forehead, some sticking up, some on the side – basically everywhere.

Zayn burst out crying and sobbed, sounding like a baby.

"My  _hair_!"

\- - -

"Thanks, have a good night," Niall smiled at the leaving customer.

Niall saw Liam was in his section to take orders and his heart sped up. He blushed and slowly walked over to him, taking his time and trying to stay as cool and collected as possible.

"Hey, can I get you anything?" he asked, looking at Liam.

Instead of Liam answering the question, he went on a completely different subject; surprising Niall.

"Do you know what bugs me?" Liam said randomly, leaning onto the table and looking up at Niall.

"People taking your order?" Niall asked, confused.

"No, taking people's orders," Liam groaned, sighing sadly to himself and looking down at the empty table.

"Why would you do that?" Niall asked, shocked.

"You don't know my dad," Liam explained.

 _Right_ , Niall thought to himself. He completely forgot about Liam's dad and how he didn't believe in X Factor one bit. It was pretty sad since it was Liam's dream to go back to X Factor. His dad thought once was more than enough and that he should never return there or mention it either.

"Do you ever feel like if you show someone who you really are . . . they won't accept you for you?" Liam said, just saying what's on his mind and letting everything out of his system.

"Yeah, I do," Niall said, shocked at how much Liam could understand him without even realizing it.

"Like being yourself isn't good enough," Liam continued.

"Exactly."

"Like you're wearing a mask," he continued, not realizing that he was rambling to the blond.

"That's exactly how I feel," Niall sighed. "You just want to tell them 'It's me, I'm the one you're looking for' and hope they'll accept you."

"Yeah," Liam smiled.

"Liam," Niall sighed once more, taking a big, deep breath and looking deeply into those heart melting brown eyes. "It's me, I'm–"

"Niall," Caroline exclaimed, calling him out from wherever she was in the restaurant.

"One second," Niall replied, turning back to Liam.

"No,  _now_ ," Caroline ordered, angry.

"It's cool," Liam said, slowly getting up from his spot. "I have to go anyways. It was nice talking to you Niall."

"You too," Niall replied, half-smiling.

Liam smiled and walked out of the restaurant. Niall sighed and his shoulders drooped. He ran his hands through his blond hair and groaned. He was so close . . . yet so far.


	12. Chapter Eleven

 

“Hello, here’s your daily brought reminder,” Cedar said into the microphone. “Don’t forget, tickets for the big game go on sale today. Are we going to win against the visitors? Find out by going to the game! Only twelve euros.”

“He said he’s going to steal Liam away from you … if that’s the last thing he’ll do and no matter what,” Zayn lied to Cher, telling her all about Niall and the sob fest Zayn thought about last night. “He’s always been jealous of you because you were with Liam.”

Cher rolled her eyes; she always knew there was a reason she hated Niall. The truth was finally revealed to her and Niall was going  _down._ “I knew it all along, anyways go on.”

“That’s when he invented the whole Prince Charming plot. He somehow got a hold of Liam’s email address and that’s how everything started and Niall got this far,” Zayn explained, bullshitting everything.

“And if you don’t believe me, look at the emails,” Zayn continued, passing her the papers he printed from his computer while Niall was busy. “This is everything they talked about, it’s pretty long.”

“He goes by Unknown but his real name is Niall Horan,” Zayn said, ruining Niall’s future social life at school; knowing how cruel Cher could be.

“So that little boyfriend stealer thinks he can take Liam away from me?!” Cher exclaimed, over liking Prince Charming right away. “We’ll just see about that, it won’t be the same after I’m done with him.”

\- - -

Liam was running late that day so Cher quickly scribbled up a few words and went to the radio station in their school.

“Liam is really late for school today and asked me if you could read this announcement,” Cher said to Cedar and passed her the note.

“Prince Charming, if you’re listening, Liam wants to meet up with you after the pep rally,” Cedar read, in a weirded-out tone. “Nothing like a little pep rally to warm everyone up.”

“What?” Cedar said awkwardly, putting the note down and looking at Cher.

Cher just shrugged and smirked. She stalked off, flipping her hair and smirking once again to herself. Niall would never see what was coming.

\- - -

“Prince Charming, if you’re listening, Liam wants to meet up with you after the pep rally,” Cedar read, broadcasting it across the entire school. “Nothing like a little pep rally to a warm everyone up.”

“What?” Cedar said by accident into the microphone.

Niall laughed but focused on the beginning of the message. He grinned to himself and his cheeks flushed again. Louis walked inside the school – his dad had grounded him forever still so he had to take the bus – and Niall ran over, practically attacking him to the ground.

“Louis, I talked to him and not as Prince Charming. I talked to him as myself and he didn’t judge or hate me,” Niall grinned, energy running all throughout his veins and he was acting like the Energizer bunny.

“So you told him everything?” Louis smiled.

“No but I’m going to tell him after the pep rally today, I’m going to tell him everything and let it all out. You coming tonight?” Niall asked.

“Yeah sure, mind if I bring someone?” Louis asked and grinned sheepishly, referring to a certain curly-haired boy.

“Would this be my younger step-brother?” Niall smirked.

Louis blushed and looked down at the ground sheepishly. Niall laughed and said ‘of course lad’. Louis grinned and they got ready for their upcoming class. Louis was very excited; Niall didn’t know if the two were dating but he guessed he would find out that night.

\- - -

Instead of Liam getting ready and concentrating on the game; he was still thinking about Prince Charming. Why hadn’t the boy come up to him and told him it was him? He wouldn’t even reply to the IMs anymore or emails. Liam felt so hurt and confused about everything.

The posters were still all around school so it’s not like Prince Charming didn’t know Liam was looking for him. It made Liam sad and he thought maybe Prince Charming didn’t want anything to do with him anymore.

“You play well at football, and your future is set from this day on,” Geoff, Liam’s dad said to his son.

“Awesome,” Liam said and faked a smile.

Liam was sitting down on the bench with all his football teammates. The pep rally was almost done but the principal came up and tapped into the microphone, making everyone cover their ears. He jumped from the shock and said, “The cheerleaders have put a little skit together to help us get into the football spirit.”

\- - -

Louis squinted at the stage and turned to Harry. Louis was in the middle of both boys but surprisingly; Harry and Niall were okay, they acted as if they were sort of friends.

“Since when do they put on skits?” Louis asked.

Harry simply shrugged and Louis turned to Niall. Niall did the same gesture and Louis grumbled. “Some help you boys are.”

“I’m sorry Louis,” Harry sighed, gently and discreetly pecking Louis’ cheek softly.

Louis smiled and turned to him. He reached down for Harry’s hand secretly and squeezed it tightly. “You’re forgiven Curly.”

Harry smiled back and Louis and Harry kept on staring into each other’s eyes like little love birds. Niall rolled his eyes playfully and groaned softly to himself. “Come on lads, stop it! You’re killing me with all this cute-gross stuff.”

“Sorry Niall,” both boys mumbled sheepishly, their cheeks reddening.

Niall laughed and turned back to the pep rally. He wondered what the skit was going to be about. Somehow, with Cher being involved in the skit, Niall had a feeling it wasn’t going to be very good.

\- - -

Cher went up on the little stage and walked over to the microphone. Liam couldn’t help but notice she looked a little bit trashy in her very short and low-cut cheer leading outfit. All of them were the same but for some strange reason; it looked worse on Cher.

“I LOVE YOU CHER,” someone shouted out in the crowd.

Cher smiled back softly and slightly waved before she said, “Thank you. Once there was a big, strong Leaping Leprechaun.”

Out came out a random guy dressed as a leprechaun. Everyone clapped and the random guy who was up smiled and waved at everyone.

“He had a beautiful girlfriend and his dad owned the biggest rainbow in all the land. But … he still wasn’t happy,” Cher continued, looking over at the random guy who now had a very sad and hurt look on his face.

“If only he could find someone, then they would kiss one another, and they would run away together; forgetting about the rest of the world,” Cher said, looking straight into Liam’s eyes as she said that.

“One night, after the greedy leprechaun ditches his super-hot-most-perfect girlfriend, he meets his special someone.”

Zayn came out in a tuxedo – looking as crisp and sharp as ever – and waved and smiled to everyone just like the random guy did when he came out. He walked over to the random guy and greeted him.

Suddenly, they separated and went to their own little corners on the stage as Cher said, “It turned out that not only did the leprechaun have a secret identity … but he also had a secret e-mail relationship with a pen pal known as Unknown.”

\- - -

Harry gasped as he realized what was happening. He turned to Louis and Louis had on the same expression. They both looked into each other’s eyes with fear and they were terrified for poor little Niall.

“This isn’t good,” Louis mumbled to himself.

“I can’t believe this,” Harry whispered to Louis. “How could someone else find out about this?! Who could have–”

Zayn caught Harry’s eye and smirked. He winked and then looked away quickly; knowing that Harry would figure it out in 3 … 2 … 1.

“Oh my God,” Harry gasped under his breath. “Zayn must have told Cher everything! I can’t believe he’d stoop that low just to get revenge on Niall! Poor Niall didn’t even do anything!”

“Sorry Harry but you have an awful twin,” Louis said.

Harry sighed and avoided his twin’s gaze. “Tell me about it…”

\- - -

“Dear Unknown, I can’t wait until we finally meet in person,” the random guy said, pretending to type on an invisible computer. “You’re the only one who understands the real me; the guy who doesn’t want UND football – but who wants to be with you, at X Factor.”

The moment Geoff heard the words ‘X Factor’, his head immediately snapped over to his son who had a straight face on his look.

“What are they talking about Liam?” his dad asked.

“Nothing, I have no idea,” Liam lied, wincing as he lied to his own father.

It wasn’t like it was the first time though; Liam always lied to his father when it came to his future. His dad just simply wouldn’t understand him and wouldn’t listen – even though Liam tried countless times.

“Dear Anonymous,” Zayn mimicked in an Irish voice, trying to imitate Niall. “I want to tell you who I am, but I’m scared! I’m scared that you’ll reject me once you find out and also … I haven’t really had my first real kiss before…”

\- - -

Niall was shocked when he heard that; he couldn’t believe they were reading his emails! He told that to Anon– er, Liam; man Niall wasn’t used to it even after all that time! – in confidence. Sure Niall had a few sloppy kisses with Louis once or twice but those didn’t really count because it wasn’t even a second each.

“I can’t believe they’re reading my emails,” Niall said, his voice cracking even more with every new word. “I’m going to go; you stay with Harry. I’ll, um, talk to you lads later or something.”

Niall got up and started walking over to the stairs, trying not to trip over anyone as he did so. Cher noticed he was trying to escape so she quickly continued her story, smiling to everyone.

“But our prince had a secret too; he wasn’t royal at all, not even close. He was actually a geek, a loser, a  _nobody_. Or also, known as a servant boy,” Cher said and smirked at Niall, looking right into those deep blue eyes.

Niall had managed to make it halfway down the stairs when Cher said, “And who, may you ask, is this horrible imposter ruining everybody’s lives? Give it up for the pretend prince, Nando’s boy; Niall Horan!”

\- - -

Liam turned around and saw Niall was stuck on the first few stairs up. Niall looked like he was a deer caught in headlights; he looked so fragile and vulnerable to anyone who looked at him.

The deep blue eyes met Liam’s and Liam was shocked. His heart skipped many beats but he couldn’t bring himself to do or say anything. He was completely shocked; Niall was Prince Charming?!

How had he not recognized those deep blue eyes on Niall before!? Maybe Liam truly was looking but simply not paying attention like Prince– oops, um, Niall – had told him that night at the dance.

“Any ideas about this son?” Geoff asked, still freaking out over hearing those two dreadful words that he had always hated.

Liam and Niall kept looking into each other’s eyes and Liam himself was so embarrassed; it wasn’t just Niall. He couldn’t believe his ex-girlfriend Cher would do something like that to him! Dumping her truly was the best thing he had ever done; but now it sort of seemed like the worst thing he ever did as well.

Liam dropped his gaze and turned back around to face the field. He crossed his arms and said, “No idea dad.”

Once again, he lied. Apparently that was what Liam did by then; he always found himself lying those days. He was so ashamed and embarrassed, he didn’t know what to do with his life anymore.

If anyone had figured out who the leprechaun they were talking about was – which wasn’t that hard to guess – they would know that Liam was gay.

\- - -

Niall couldn’t believe Liam had just did that! Of course he would drop his gaze; after all Niall was just ‘Nando’s boy’ and nothing more. Still, Niall found himself hurt from that action – and he was already very hurt before.

To make things worse, Cher and Zayn began shouting out two dreadful words. Not only that, it began catching on and soon enough; practically everyone in the entire crowd were shouting it along as well.

The words kept getting repeated and repeated; Niall felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He had a case of claustrophobia and he wasn’t around anybody at the time; but he had never felt so suffocated before.

The words kept ringing and ringing in his head. They were torturing him and his ears were ringing as well. Tears stung his eyes and his vision got blurry very hard and very fast. He felt hopeless and didn’t know what to do.

Slowly, the words were killing every little hope, spirit, and happiness that he had left in that little Irish body of his.

“Nando’s boy! Nando’s boy! Nando’s boy! Nando’s boy! Nando’s boy!”


	13. Chapter Twelve

Niall ran as fast as he could. He ran for his life and ran all the way home from school. He ran up to his room and plopped onto his bed. He buried his face in the covers; tears burning his eyes.

How could he be so stupid!? He should have known that would be Liam’s reaction once Liam had found out who Niall really was. Of course Liam wasn’t going to fall for him – why would he? He was just Nando's boy after all.

Niall’s shoulders were shaking and he knew exactly what that meant; he was definitely crying. Not only did the man he love not love him back but he was publicly humiliated in front of the entire school. He had never felt so embarrassed in his life before.

“Niall?” Caroline said, resting by the door with a plate of cookies in her hands.

“Go away,” Niall mumbled into the pillow, really not in the mood to speak with Caroline at the moment.

“But Niall you’ve got a letter from Flex Factor,” Caroline said, once again messing up the name.

She set the cookies down and walked inside of the room, gently sitting down on the bed. Caroline held out the letter and Niall slowly sat up. He took the letter and ripped out the envelope; dying to know what it said. He began reading it slowly; his slight smile turning into a huge frown immediately.

“What does it say?” Caroline asked and hid her smirk.

“I didn’t get into the auditions…,” Niall sighed, fresh new tears filling into his eyes. “I … they said I didn’t get in because they had too many people; I didn’t even think that was possible.”

“Oh no,” Caroline’s acting skills were absolutely horrible. “And you worked so hard to try and get into this Flex Factor…”

Nial laughed bitterly and shook his head slowly to himself. He wasn’t even bothered that Caroline couldn’t get it right – what did it matter anymore anyways? He then sighed and said, “I can’t believe I thought I was even good enough to get into the auditions. I was crazy to ever think I could get in.”

“Well look on the bright side,” Caroline grinned. “You’ll have a job at the restaurant for the rest of your life now, that’s a good thing. You’ve already found your job forever.”

Niall wrinkled his nose and frowned; he didn’t want to do that for the rest of his life – not even close! Caroline grabbed the plate she had set down on the table and held it out for the upset blond. “Want a cookie to make you feel better?”

Niall absolutely  _adored_  to eat but he wasn’t hungry at all that day. He  _never ever_  rejected food but he was so heartbroken and hurt. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach and he just wanted to cry and bawl his eyes out until he would eventually fall asleep.

“But they’re so moist,” Caroline said, taking a bite out of a cookie.

Niall didn’t reply to her, he simply shoved his head back into the pillow; letting more tears spill out of his puffy eyes. Caroline slowly got up and left the room – not even looking back once.

Niall knew she left the cookies for him to eat, the smell was quite obvious that the plate was still resting on the bed. But, Niall wasn’t even thinking of his appetite at the moment. He felt ill and just smelling the cookies made him want to puke.

So Niall just stayed there on his face, buried into his pillow. Nothing except his shoulders moved, which meant that he was still crying. He didn’t care how stupid he looked or he seemed like a baby, truth was; he didn’t know what to care about anymore at that point.

And for the first time  _ever_ ; Niall rejected food. It was that serious.  
\- - -

Liam couldn’t believe everything that had just happened; Niall simply ran away. And he ran very fast as well; never looking back once. The situation didn’t really help because everyone was staring at him until they couldn’t see him anymore.

Liam was still trying to process it all through his mind. Seriously, why hadn’t Liam noticed Niall before? There was a lot of charm in that blond and it was quite obvious. Liam felt sort of bad that he had never taken the time to really notice Niall in his eyes.

Cher could tell Liam was still starstruck at everything in the past twenty minutes. She sighed and flipped her hair, casually rolling her eyes. She put a hand gently on Liam’s shoulder once she walked over to him and looked down at the shocked boy.

“Liam it’s okay, don’t be upset over this. Just remember people like him don’t belong in our world,” she said, trying to get the memo through to him.

Liam couldn’t even reply. He was still shocked and he had no idea what to even  _reply_  to that. The way Cher said that made him realizing something very important: what if he didn’t want to be categorized in that “world” anymore?  
\- - -

“Niall, what in the  _world_  are you doing!?” Paul exclaimed, noticing Niall was on the floor with a bucket beside him. “When did you even get here lad? I never even saw you walk in…”

“I’m cleaning the floors,” Niall sighed, scrubbing as hard as he could and also trying to get his anger out while he was doing that.

“Come on lad, get up,” Paul sighed, slowly helping Niall up from the ground.

Niall looked down at the ground and Paul could tell something was up. Paul could always tell when Niall was upset; it was a gift. He sighed and asked, “What’s going on Niall? I thought you weren’t working tonight?”

“I’m Nando’s boy, Paul,” Niall exclaimed, his emotions getting the best of him. “I’m doing what Nando’s boys do and that’s all. I’m done trying to fit in because it’s obvious that I just can’t seem to do that.”

Paul gaped at the blond and sighed, running a hand through his hair and trying to think things through. “What’s gotten into you? You don’t realized how bless you are Nialler. You’ve got a whole family behind you; we have faith in you. It’s up to you to have faith in yourself.”

Zayn and Harry walked into Nando’s after Paul was finished his speech. Zayn was already glaring at Niall and giving him the dirtiest look possible while Harry’s head was down; his face practically glued to his phone. He was probably texting Louis or something.

Suddenly, the guitar on the wall fell down and crashed onto the ground; ripping the wallpaper with it. Zayn gasped and he was shocked. Caroline walked in right after that and Zayn wasted no time, knowing there was a way he could get poor innocent Niall in trouble.

“Mum! Niall just ruined your wall,” Zayn said and pointed at the old wallpaper showing; giving Niall a sneaky, evil smirk.

Niall was going to go down no matter. Zayn planned on crushing Niall until there was literally nothing left to crush. Zayn had always hated Niall and he always tried to get revenge but it never worked; finally, everything was paying off for him.

Caroline looked up from her phone and saw the ruined wall. She gasped and said, “Well I hope you know that’s coming out of your paycheck mister. And cover up those stupid words  _now_!”

“You can do anything you want if you set your mind to it,” Niall read slowly, remembering the famous quote his dad used to always tell him.

Niall was letting Caroline ruin his life without him even truly realizing how bad it was! But things were going to change; Niall was putting his foot then as of that very moment.

“All right, I’m going to get more lipo done, come on boys. Oh and Niall? I need you to clean the pool tonight,” Caroline said, turning on her heel.

“No.”

Caroline stopped in her tracks and turned around. Zayn had gasped and was giving Niall an oh-no-you-didn’t look; even  _Zayn_  never disobeyed his mum or else he knew he would get into trouble.

Harry had looked up from his cell phone but he had a huge grin on his face. It was about time Niall stood up for himself! Maybe Caroline was a bit of a big step to begin with but Harry thought it was amazing of Niall to do.

“ _Excuse_  me?” Caroline said in a raspy voice, squinting evilly at Niall.

“You heard me,” Niall began, still going as strong as ever. “I quit: I quit this job, I quit your family, and I’m moving out.”

“And where do you think you’re going to live? There’s no one who would want a boy like you,” Caroline smirked, knowing Niall had absolutely nowhere to stay.

“With me,” Paul said, stepping right beside Niall and nodding at the blond reassuringly, winking at him.

Niall grinned and mouthed a thank you to Paul. Paul nodded and Niall smiled once more. He began walking away when Caroline cried out, “You can’t just walk out on me Niall James Horan!”

The blond stopped and turned around; feeling yet another speech crawling up in his throat. He had no idea what made him feel so brave – maybe it was seeing his dad’s old quote – but he liked it and he was glad he was finally standing up for himself for once.

“You know what Caroline? You can mess with your hair, your face and your nose. You can even mess with my dad’s restaurant. But Caroline? You’re through messing with me now.”

Caroline was shocked and she couldn’t even mutter a reply or anything. Niall smirked and began walking out again; knowing he had finally won against the evil stepmum.

“Niall wait up,” Paul exclaimed, quickly following into Niall’s footsteps.

“You take one more step and you’re fired,” Caroline said, threatening him.

Paul laughed and replied, “Actually, that won’t be necessary because I quit too. The  _only_  reason I stayed here and put up with you for all these years is because of that boy right there. Now that he’s finally free from you, there’s absolutely nothing stopping me from kicking your butt.”

“No, no,” Caroline exclaimed, hiding behind her two very shocked twins. “Not my face! You have no idea how much I payed for this face! It’s much more newer than the boys! Hit the boys, not me!”

“Mom?!” Harry and Zayn both exclaimed, frightened for their lives as Paul kept approaching them.

“Paul?  _Paul_ ,” Niall called out, tugging on his old friend’s sleeve. “She’s not even worth it, trust me.”

“You’re right,” Paul muttered and walked away with Niall.

“I quit too,” another server said.

“Me too! Hey Paul, Niall; wait up! I need a ride home,” the chef said, running after them in a hurry.

All three of them left and more of the staff began leaving as well. Caroline stood thee in shocked as she kept watching more and more people walk out of her restaurant. She was practically having a panic attack from seeing everyone leave right with her very eyes.

A man who was eating even got up and walked past Caroline with his food in his hands. He turned to her and said, “Send me a bill.”

And with that; the only three left in the restaurant were Caroline, Harry and Zayn.

\- - -

“Caroline actually thought you were going to fight her,” Niall laughed, fluffing a pillow at Paul’s house. “It’s pretty pathetic though how she went behind her own boys, what a coward.”

“Oh I was going to do more than just that lad,” Paul added, seeming a hundred percent serious.

“I had no idea that you were that brave,” Niall admitted sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Paul smiled, ruffling Niall’s hair. “But I always knew deep down inside; you were that brave. Niall you have this huge heart and you almost never say no. But there’s also this huge fire inside of you, just burning away until you actually use it. And today? You used it.”

Niall grinned and put down the pillow. He loved hugs so gave his old friend a hug; hugging him tightly. Paul laughed and hugged him back as well, comfortingly rubbing his back. Niall pulled away and smiled once more.

“Paul,” he sighed, feeling awfully bad and feels as if he’s taking advantage of his friend. “Are you sure it’s okay if I stay here with you? I really don’t want to intrude or anything…”

“Of course Niall! I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Paul grinned.

Niall sighed and smiled, looking around to the very homy room. “I haven’t felt this much at home in ages, it feels nice.”

Paul grinned as well but then frowned once he noticed Niall’s face changed within a few seconds. Niall had a very sad and depressed look on his face for some strange reason. He sighed and said, “What’s on your mind?”

“I have to do something tonight, don’t wait up for me, okay?” Niall grinned, finally taking matters into his own hands – and not just with Caroline.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Niall went in the boys' changing rooms before their big football game was about to start that night. He knew he wasn't supposed to be in there because it was only for the teammates but he had so many emotions built inside of him; he had to let out all of his thoughts and finally get rid of them– once and for all.

But unfortunately for Niall, the changing rooms were absolutely huge so Niall had quite a hard time finding Liam. The football players were giving him some odd looks but Niall just shrugged them off and kept on trying to find Liam through all of the football players.

His heart was literally pounding and as excited Niall was to get everything out of his system; he was also very nervous at the thought. He knew he might forget his whole speech that was glued to his mind so he just had to hope for the absolute best and have faith.

Niall was actually getting quite annoyed and the longer it took to find Liam, the more nervous he felt. So many thoughts were running through his mind and he was just excited to let them out for good and for them to leave him alone – forever.

There was only one more spot that Niall hadn't looked at in the changing rooms so he walked over there and kept looking. He saw the brownish hair and that all-too-familiar face and his heart raced immediately.

Niall stopped in his tracks when he saw Liam and he felt as if he couldn't move anymore. He sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair. He took a deep breath and sighed once more; he was finally ready to go do it.

Who knew what was going to happen after Niall would let everything go? Niall himself didn't even know and that's what scared him the most. He thought after he would be done his speech, Liam would never want to talk to Niall again.

As much as Niall  _hated_  the thought; he was going to have to risk it all. It wasn't good for him to keep all those unnecessary thoughts in his mind.

Niall closed his eyes for one second and then quickly opened them right after. His heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest at any moment. Niall shrugged off all of his emotions and tried to remain calm as he as he possibly could even though his heart was still pounding.

Niall walked over and one of Liam's friends noticed him before Liam himself. The friend smirked and said, "Hey it's you, Nando's boy! Can I get some peri-peri chicken to go?"

More people noticed Niall by then and whispers were going all around the changing room, people kept muttering "What's he doing in here?" and kept giving Niall even more odd looks than before.

The moment Liam heard 'Nando's boy', his head popped up immediately and he looked around. He couldn't see anybody so he looked up and noticed Niall was right in front of him. Liam's cheeks flushed and he felt rather nervous. He tried not to stammer as he said, "What are you doing in here? You're not supposed to be in here I hope you know."

Niall didn't even reply so Liam kept going, just stammering and probably making a complete fool out of himself as he continued.

"Niall," he began. "okay, I know you probably think I'm just some–"

"Coward? Fake guy? Phony?" Niall said, resting his hands on his hips angrily; he was just naming off a few off the names but he wasn't going to name them all because that would take forever.

"Okay yeah but just listen–"

"No  _you_  listen," Niall interrupted. "You, Liam Payne, turned out to be exactly who I thought you were this entire time. I hope you know that I never pretended to be someone else during all of this. It's been me the whole time Liam, no pretending whatsoever. And it was  _me_  who got hurt and embarrassed in front of everybody during the pep rally."

Liam remained silent and he looked down at the ground sheepishly. He couldn't continue staring into those deep blue eyes; they were making his heart rate go off the charts. Liam's cheeks flushed and he felt so ashamed of himself for everything that he did.

"Look," Niall began, calming his voice slowly and cooling himself off. "I didn't come here to yell at you or anything. I came to tell you that I know what it feels like to be afraid of who you are. I had the exact same situation as you and I was afraid of who I was as well. But I'm not anymore and also, the thing is; I don't care what people think of me."

Niall sighed and took a deep breath. He was almost done his speech by then but he already felt the weight slowly lifting off his back. He lightly smiled and continued his speech.

"But even though I have no family, no job and no money for X Factor, it's actually  _you_  that I feel sorry for; not me. I believe in myself and I know things are going to be okay for me so I'm not worried," Niall explained.

"Heads up, only five more minutes before the big game," Andy said, looking down at his emotionless friend.

"I'm coming," Liam snapped, instantly regretting being rude to his best friend.

Andy put his arms up in the "I'm innocent" positions and left both boys alone after that; hoping Liam would be okay for the football game after.

"I know the guy who sent me those emails is somewhere deep down inside of you Liam, but I can't wait for him any longer. Because waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought; useless and disappointing," Niall finished, slowly sighing to himself after he was done.

Liam opened his mouth to say something – anything! – but nothing came out of his mouth. He felt like screaming his lunges out and just cry right then and there but he didn't do that either.

He didn't do anything actually, he just remained there'; acting like a mindless robot. Niall sighed and shook his head. He walked away and left Liam there all to himself after that.

Niall walked out of the huge changing room and began walking through the empty halls of the school. He looked around the emptiness and even though it was empty and looked sad; Niall couldn't have felt more happier then. He had finally let go of it all and the unwanted thoughts weren't running through his mind anymore after he had finished the speech.

"Niall! Niall," someone called out, running up to the blond quickly.

Niall turned around and saw his best friend Louis running over to him. Niall gasped and grinned to himself; god bless Louis and knowing exactly when to come at the most perfect times.

"Louis, what are you doing here?" Niall grinned.

Louis opened his arms and held them open for Niall to hug him. Niall grinned and went into Louis' arms, hugging him as tightly as he possibly could. Louis chuckled and hugged his best friend back just as tightly.

"Paul told me where you might be tonight. I thought maybe you could use a friend," Louis explained, shrugging into the hug.

Niall grinned once more and slowly pulled out of the bear hug. Louis grinned and continued, "Niall I'm so proud of you! I can't believe you told him off! Your stepmum and your crush all in one day? How do you feel?"

"I'll let you know when I catch my breath," Niall chuckled. "Let's do something tonight, please? I don't want to be alone tonight."

Louis scratched the back of his head awkwardly and sighed softly, looking down at the ground sheepishly. He cleared his throat and said, "Well um, I was actually planning on going to the football game . . . but I understand if you don't want to do that because of you-know-who."

Niall sighed and shook his head, slowly smiling to himself. He was completely over it so why not go and have some fun? If he truly was over it; he should prove it to himself and the world.

"No . . . I'll go," Niall said, surprised to even hear himself say that out loud even though his mind fully knew he was going to say it.

"Really?" Louis asked him skeptically. " _You_ , Niall Horan, will go to the football game tonight with me?"

"Yeah," Niall nodded. "I can handle it now, come on Louis. It'll be our first and last game."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

[Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaY1navSEws)

"Can you believe the little rat actually made it?" Caroline laughed, showing Zayn the real acceptance letter for the auditions that Caroline had hidden ever since the day that she got it.

"But, wait . . . what? You said Niall didn't make it and Niall was so upset? How could this be? I thought that Niall wasn't accepted?" Zayn frowned, not getting what Caroline was getting to.

"That was my fake letter I made," Caroline smirked.

Zayn gasped and his jaw practically hit the floor. That was a genius idea! Why hadn't Zayn thought of something as brilliant as that?! He was so proud of his mum and he looked up to her. He sort of wish that he had thought of that actually so he could take the brilliant credit for that.

"You're the best mum ever," Zayn grinned, so happy that Niall felt down and hurt because of the fake letter.

And Niall would never know it was fake. Harry wasn't there because he was gone so who would tell Niall? Definitely not Zayn and Caroline wouldn't do that if she had changed the letter in the first place.

"I know," Caroline smirked once more, fluffing her hair. "Come on let's go throw this in the trash before Niall finds it somewhere around the house. Remember, this stays between you and me right Zaynie-poo?"

Zayn rolled his eyes and groaned. He absolutely hated when his mum called him that. Caroline always tended to do that; she'd call her sons Harold and Zaynie-poo and both twins absolutely despised those nicknames.

"Yeah I know," Zayn said and followed Caroline to wherever she was throwing out the real letter from X Factor.

At least Niall wouldn't be happy because of that. Zayn may have failed in other attempts but X Factor was always a big part of Niall's life so Zayn knew the blond must have felt crushed. Zayn was happy about that and it truly gave him so much joy.

\- - -

"Hey babe," Harry said into the phone later that day.

Louis felt his cheeks blush and he grinned sheepishly to himself. Louis was at his house since he was still grounded but his dad was slowly coming around to everything. His dad actually told him he could go out that night and if Louis got in trouble; he just would be grounded for longer.

"Hey Curly, I missed you," Louis smiled, once again blushing to himself as he said that. "So, what's up? Do you have any plans tonight?"

"I missed you too," Harry admitted sheepishly, grinning to himself. "Not much, it's pretty much boring over here and I'm home alone. Mum and Zayn went out to go do something but anyways, no I don't have anything planned tonight. Why? Do you have something in mind Lou?"

Louis grinned and sighed happily; he loved when they would call each other their little nicknames. Louis thought it was so cute but also, he thought it was rather romantic for some really bizarre reason.

"Yeah I do, want to go watch the football game with me tonight?" Louis asked.

Harry wrinkled his nose and sighed. He then said, "Like at school? In front of everyone where we're visible to the world?"

"Um yeah?" Louis chuckled. "Why is that such a big deal Curly?"

"Because then we can't kiss...," Harry's voice went small when he said that.

Louis remained silent on the other end. He had the biggest grin on his face and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found someone as amazing as Harry. He loved that curly-haired boy with all of his heart.

"Oh well in that case how about we–"

Louis' cell phone buzzed and interrupted his sentence. He frowned and told Harry he had another call waiting before he took it.

"Hello?" Louis said, confused.

"Hello is this Louis?" a very familiar Irish accent said.

"Yes....," Louis replied slowly.

"It's Paul from the restaurant? I just wanted to tell you I think you should go see Niall, he really needs a friend. He told me he had to go do something and I think he's at school. He really needs you Louis," Paul explained.

Louis sighed and nodded to himself even though no one could see him. Best friends before boyfriends right? He sighed once more and said, "Thanks Paul, I'll go over to the school now and see if I can find him."

Paul thanked him and then they both hung up. Louis rubbed his temples and sighed sadly before he put the phone back onto Harry and his' conversation. Louis took a deep breath and said, "Curly? I have to go to school and find Niall actually. That was Paul from the restaurant and he said Niall really needs a friend at the moment. We'll have our first date later, I promise."

"Sure, make sure he's okay please?" Harry said, also adding on some more wishes that he wanted Louis to give to Niall.

"Sure thing Curly," Louis smiled.

"Okay well have fun," Harry replied.

"Okay! Oh . . . and Harry?" Louis asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly and looking down at the ground sheepishly.

"Yeah?"

"I-I love you," Louis said slowly and closed his eyes shut, wincing as he said those words for the first time ever to his boyfriend.

The other side of the phone remained silent and Louis bit down on his lip as he tried to not freak out. Had he said it too soon? Should he have kept his feelings in  a bit longer?

Louis began freaking out and he took deep breaths. He tried to calm himself down but it wasn't working. Louis felt sweat gather up on his face and his heartbeat was going off the charts. He felt as if he would explode but Harry finally replied.

"I love you too Lou."

\- - -

"So guys, Liam and I are almost back together so that means it won't be long until we'll be reunited," Cher told her fellow cheerleaders, smiling and nodding to confirm it once more, but with her body.

"Really?" one of her friends asked skeptically, not even believing it for a second. "Who told you this? Liam himself?"

Cher rolled her eyes and did everything in her power to not glare at her so-called "friend". "No but I can see it in his eyes; him and I are  _meant_ to be together and now that Niall's out of the way since he's so embarrassed– nothing is stopping us from being together and reuniting."

"Um Cher," another cheerleader said, not wanting to burst the drama queen's bubble. "Are you sure Niall isn't here today at the football game? I think you may be wrong about that..."

Cher laughed and clutched her stomach. She laughed so hard that her pompoms fell to the ground. That was a very funny joke her fellow cheerleader had said and Cher even had a few tears of laughter.

The cheerleader was so confused and didn't understand why Cher was laughing. She hadn't said it for a joke, why would she joke about something like that? That would be rude.

The cheerleader cleared her throat and said, "Um Cher I wasn't joking. Seriously he's here in the crowd tonight. Probably to watch Liam play football on his big game or something like that I guess."

Cher stopped laughing immediately and her eyes turned into slits. He came to watch her soon-to-be-boyfriend Liam!? That wouldn't do; Niall would mess everything up for Cher. Of course, Cher was hoping this truly was a lie and the cheerleader was just rude.

"Of course he's not here," Cher snapped. "What makes you think he is?"

The scared cheerleader raised her shaky hand and pointed at a blond boy who was trying to get through the crowd to sit down at a spot. There was a tan boy beside him and Cher realized it was the boy that claimed to "love her" or something that sounded along those lines.

Cher's anger began bubbling up inside of her and she could practically feel steam coming out of her ears. That was  _not_  happening to her; why was he there?! Had he not got the message the first time when she embarrassed him in front of the entire school!?

"He won't be staying for long," Cher said and flipped her hair, looking away as she began thinking of plans to get rid of Niall as soon as possible.

\- - -

"Sorry, excuse me. Sorry," the two boys kept saying as they tried to get through to sit down in some spots.

They finally found two free spots and sat down in them. The cheerleaders had just finished their act and the announcer was calling out the football team at that point. Louis smiled and turned to Niall.

"I'm glad you came tonight Niall, it'll be fun," he smiled once more.

Niall smiled a bit and he truly hoped he would have fun. His mind was finally clear so things had to start looking up for him by then . . . right?

"Now the Leaping Leprechauns against the Golden Geese," the announcer kept on announcing, informing everyone. "Both are tied in the lead for the championships. The winning team of tonight's football game will advance to the playoffs for the state championship."

"I hope it'll be fun," Niall sighed softly, looking at the empty football field which would soon be filled with people.

"It will be fun," Louis promised. "Just stay positive and don't worry. Don't think about anything in particular; just focus on the game."

"Thanks Louis," Niall sighed softly. "I think I will actually be okay though. I feel so much weight has left ever since I finished my very long speech."

"Did you tell him off? You never told me what happened other than you let everything off your chest. Did you slap him?" Louis joked, grinning.

Niall burst out laughing and sighed happily. Oh how he loved his best friend. "No I didn't slap the man I love – that would be mad! I just told him I couldn't wait for him anymore. It's like waiting for rain in this drought. I'm not just going to sit around and wait for him forever."

Niall shrugged it off and turned to Louis and smiled. "Where's Harry?"

Louis blushed and grinned at the name. He cleared his throat and said, "He wanted to hang out tonight but I told him you needed a friend and he completely understood. He hopes you're okay and says he's sorry for never seeing Cher's true colours until that pep rally."

Niall smiled softly; Louis was truly a great friend. Harry was also an awesome brother and he felt bad for ever thinking bad of Harry – he only meant it for Zayn and Caroline but Harry would be included in the package.

"That's sweet of him, tell him thanks," Niall smiled. "Or I can tell him actually, anyways; you two an official couple yet mate?"

"Yeah," Louis turned a deep shade of red and chuckled sheepishly. "I asked him to be my boyfriend yesterday. We're keeping it secret for now though; no one knows except my family and you. We were going to tell you tonight, I swear."

Niall shrugged it off and smiled – he didn't care, he knew Louis was going to tell him when he was ready. Niall was just happy that his stepbrother and his best friend were happy – together.

"Congrats," Niall grinned.

Louis grinned right back and was about to say something but they got interrupted. The football team came out and everyone was cheering for them. Time for the game to begin.

\- - -

"Okay Liam," the football coach – and his own  _dad_  – said, patting Liam's shoulder. "This is the big game, all right? You stay focused and win the game. Everyone's counting on you to lead us to victory tonight."

Liam gulped and the pressure was definitely on that night. He felt as if he couldn't really breathe and he knew this football game would decide whether or not he can go into UND because people from the university were there to see who should get accepted for their skills or not.

Liam really had to tell his dad that he didn't want to go UND or become a star-athlete football player. Sure, it was fun but Liam would get tired of the same thing for the rest of his life – he was already tired of it!

Liam couldn't go into more detail in his thoughts because the game was about to begin. The football players positioned themselves and the game began.

**[Play YouTube video on the side]**

Liam kicked the white-and-black ball and began running with it; trying to score a goal. Liam was very fast and very fit so the blockers on the other team were having issues trying to keep up with him.

He kicked the football hard and it went right through the goalie's legs; landing right into the net. Liam grinned and felt a bit of victory. He sighed happily and continued trying as hard as he could; getting his anger out in the game and just focusing on the football game and nothing else.

It was going to be a long night with the game but Liam was ready for it.

\- - -

The game was super intense and Liam kept scoring goals – with the help of his teammates of course. The coach had told the teammates that they should always pass the football to Liam if ever they had it so Liam could score and win the game for them.

Liam thought that was a bit rude and unfair for all the others but either they didn't seem to mind or if they did; they didn't say anything about it. His dad would always be doing that since he was the coach and Liam had always hated it.

"The Leprechauns only need one more score to win the game! If the Leprechauns win this, they will go to the state champions. Can you say, "intense"?" the announcer said into the microphone.

\- - -

Cher kept on cheer leading during the whole game like she was supposed to. Her eyes kept wandering back to Niall and she would get more and more angry. She had to continue focusing on the cheer moves so she wouldn't fall and hurt herself.

The game was practically ending and Niall was  _still_  there! It bugged Cher beyond relief and she had to do something. She looked over at Liam and noticed the ball still hadn't been brought to the middle yet.

She stopped her cheer and yelled out, "Liam! Liam! Liam! Liam!"

The other cheerleaders chanted as well and soon enough; the people in crowd had joined in as well.

Liam looked around and he was so confused on why people were chanting his name. Cher saw the look of shock on Niall's face; he looked unsure of whether to stay or not. Cher smirked and sighed happily to herself; she always got her way.

\- - -

"Liam! Liam! Liam! Liam! Liam! Liam!"

The whole crowd kept chanting his name and the ball hadn't even gone to the middle yet. Niall didn't like hearing Liam's name . . . there was something about it that made Niall go queasy in the stomach.

Even though Niall told Liam that he couldn't wait for him forever; didn't mean that Niall was over Liam – not even close.

He turned to Louis and cleared his throat nervously. He gulped and said, "L-Louis, I thought I could handle this but I actually can't. I'm sorry mate but I need to get out of here right now."

"I'll tell you how it ends lad," Louis said and eyed Niall quickly, feeling bad for the very-red-faced boy.

Niall shrugged and slowly got up. He kept saying 'sorry' and 'excuse me' and tried to get through. Niall was pretty far down in the row so it took him quite awhile to get out and unfortunately for him; Liam noticed.

\- - -

Liam looked up and noticed a very familiar blond boy leaving the crowd of people. He was trying to make his way through but he was pretty far down so it was taking quite a bit of time.

Liam finally realized it was Niall and he gasped; when did Niall come to watch?! After Niall had said his whole speech, it made Liam realize something. He was in fact pretending to be someone he wasn't. Liam hadn't really noticed but Niall made him realize that Liam wasn't acting like himself.

He looked at all of his teammates who were just staring at him. Liam smiled to himself and shook his head. Liam looked at all of them before saying, "Sorry lads, I have to go."

He began jogging off the field without ever taking his eyes off of Niall. He had to go find Niall and do something he should have done a long time ago once he found out who Prince Charming truly was.

Geoff gripped his arm and Liam turned around, shocked and surprised from his father's unfamiliar actions.

"What are you doing?!" his dad exclaimed.

"I'm done here, I'm out," Liam explained, trying to pull away.

Geoff's grip tightened to keep Liam in place and he replied, "What!? You're throwing away your whole dream here!"

"No dad," Liam said, finally getting out of his dad's grip. "I'm not throwing away anything of mine or my dream; I'm throwing away yours."

He had to go fix things with Niall. He took a deep breath and then he ran. He began running over to Niall who was already going down the stairs. Liam was finally going to set everything straight, and prove that he was not.

\- - -

Cher noticed that Liam was off the field. She was so lost and confused until she noticed where he was running to. Niall was going down the stairs and Liam was headed right for his direction.

"Liam! Liam," she screeched. "Get back here!"

\- - -

Liam kept running up and finally reached Niall. Niall stopped and saw Liam was right in front of him. He frowned a bit and said, "Liam, what are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Liam replied.

Niall smiled and Liam smiled right back. His eyes kept flickering down to Niall's lips and he slowly leaned in. He cupped Niall's jaw and Niall closed his eyes, his heart pounding for his first real kiss.

Liam's lips touched Niall's and Niall froze. His eyes went big but he quickly closed them again. He wrapped his arms around Liam's waist and gently kissed him back, surprising himself. Their lips were making a beautiful pattern together and their kiss was getting more heated by the second.

Liam began nibbling on Niall's bottom lip gently when he felt a raindrop land on his cheek. He pulled away and looked up at the sky, causing Niall to look up as well.

Raindrops began falling lightly but then there was a loud sound and the rain began pouring down like mad. Everyone was getting absolutely soaked and Liam smiled at Niall who was already smiling at him.

"Sorry I waited for the rain," Liam said.

"It's okay," Niall smiled.

Liam eyed the blond's lips once more before leaning in and kissing him deeply yet again. Niall pulled Liam closer and kissed him back deeply, bringing one hand up to the back of Liam's neck. Liam kissed Niall harder and gently licked Niall's bottom lip.

Niall had no idea what to do but he gently parted his mouth, letting Liam in. Liam gently slipped his tongue in and explored all around; playing with Niall's tongue at the same time.

Niall got into it and they began tongue wrestling for dominance. Liam pulled his tongue back after he won and began nibbling at Niall's bottom lip while Niall sucked on Liam's top lip.

It was truly the most perfect moment. The boys didn't care that it was absolutely pouring; they had finally admitted they were gay for each other and they were now technically together, in the romantic rain.

\- - -

"Nooo," Zayn yelled out and crossed his arms.

How could Liam fall for a guy like that?! Did Liam have absolutely no idea what he was getting into? Zayn would definitely have to set him straight the next day or something – he couldn't let Liam risk the rest of his life with an Irish life-ruiner.

How would he be able to steal Liam though? Zayn was definitely going to have to do some straight thinking that night and come up with another of his many plans that always saved the day. Zayn though that without himself, life would be horrible for everyone.

Zayn was really pissed. No, he was more than just pissed; he was furious. How could Niall get the happy ending?! Niall was an awful awful kid: only cared about his looks, found a way to disobey his stepmum without noticing, was rude to Zayn's twin and would text girls and use them for his needs.

Suddenly, Zayn realized that wasn't Niall . . . but was in fact himself! He was so shocked and he sat back down with his eyes as wide as ever. He was the monster all along . . . not Niall! He had been blaming a completely innocent person when he was the one to blame the entire time.

\- - -

"GOAL! The Leaping Leprechauns won," the announcer announced to everyone who were already cheering.

Louis yelled and stood up, pumping his fist in the air. He couldn't believe they won the game! That meant they would go to the state championship and that was huge! He was so proud and happy for all of the teammates on the football team.

He looked over and saw Liam and Niall were still kissing each other as deeply as ever; not even needing any air to breathe. Louis grinned and sighed happily to himself. He was so happy for his best friend.

"Oh my . . . you got to love high school," Louis chuckled, shaking his head.

 

 


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Liam pulled away gently and rested his forehead against Niall’s slowly. Both boys smiled at each other and Liam then sad, “Come on Niall, let’s get out of here right now.”

“Where are we going?” Niall asked, confused.

“Anywhere but here, I brought my car so we can go. Will you come with me Niall? If you want that is,” Liam smiled softly, looking down into those deep blue eyes that managed to make his heart skip a beat every time.

Liam held out his hand and Niall looked down at it slowly; his blond wet hair sticking to his forehead because of the rain. He slowly intertwined his soft fingers through Liam’s and nodded quickly.

“I’d love to,” Niall smiled.

Liam smiled as well and they began walking down the stairs. They ignored everybody who were still staring at them and it was still pouring down. After no one could see them anymore since they were so far away, they ran over to the car as quick as they possibly could.

They both stopped on the same side of Liam’s car and they laughed together. Liam gently wrapped his arms around Niall’s waist and Niall immediately stopped laughing. He rested one hand on the back of Liam’s neck and the other hand cupping a side of Liam’s gentle face.

Liam pulled Niall as close as possible and looked deeply into those deep blue eyes that could always make his heart pound twice as hard with their intensity. Niall smiled and subtly eyed Liam’s rosy, soft lips.

Unfortunately for Niall; he wasn’t as subtle as he thought he was. Liam smirked once he noticed and slowly leaned in. Niall saw that move and his cheeks turned red. Liam kept on leaning in until their lips touched for yet a third time in that very same day.

Even though Niall saw it coming quite some time ago, he was still shocked when their lips actually touched. Niall wasted no time and kissed Liam back as deeply as he could. Liam smiled gently into the kiss and their lips were creating the most beautiful sparks ever.

Liam gently licked Niall’s bottom lip and nudged them with his own; causing Niall to slowly part his own set of lips. Liam then gently pushed his tongue inside and explored Niall’s mouth. Niall was like a little lost puppy at kissing but he tried as best as he could to follow along with Liam.

Liam gently nibbled on Niall’s bottom lip before slowly pulling away from the heated kiss. Both were trying to catch their breaths after that and Niall’s cheeks turned a deep shade of red. Liam thought it was incredibly cute and sexy.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, yeah? What are you in the mood for to eat Niall?” Liam asked, getting into the driver’s seat.

Niall got into the passenger seat and replied, “I’m definitely in the mood for a Big Mac.”

Liam laughed and shook his head; remembering the night of the dance and how Niall had said he preferred a Big Mac over a salad. Liam grinned and he thought Niall was absolutely adorable. And Niall was all his to have, no sharing with anybody else.

Liam began driving and they drove off together to the nearest McDonald’s they could find. Most importantly; Liam and Niall were finally together at last and no one could break them apart.

\- - -

Geoff had so much to think about after the football game had finished that day. All night, he was tossing and turning. He was shocked that Liam quit football as simple as that and he was shocked to find out his own son was gay. But what shocked him the most was the fact that it wasn’t Liam’s dream to be a star football player. Geoff kept thinking of all the times that he had rejected his son’s real dream the whole time without even realizing it.

Liam wanted to go back to X Factor because Simon told him to come back in two years but Geoff always frowned upon it after the first time and hated when anybody would even simply  _mention_  X Factor.

Geoff knew he had to change his ways after that night. During the middle of the night, Geoff got up and dug through his drawers to find his long-forgotten shirt he had. He hadn’t worn it for two years but maybe it was time to finally take out the shirt once more.

Geoff finally found it and pulled it out. He held it out in front of him and sighed softly. The X Factor shirt still looked as if it was brand new or something even though he had owned it for around two whole years.

He quickly put it on and went back to bed. Geoff felt a little better and he eventually managed to fall asleep. In the morning, Geoff was definitely going to apologize to his son Liam. He had finally come around to the idea of X Factor.

\- - -

Early in the morning, Niall smelled something while packing his stuff to bring over to Paul’s. It smelled like food and Niall immediately stood up from his crouching position. He noticed he still had a good forty five minutes before he had to leave the household before anyone would wake up; especially Caroline.

Niall was about to go back to packing when he noticed a tray laying down on the ground beside him. Not only that; the tray was  _filled_  with lots of food. Niall gasped and looked around. After another minute or two, he finally noticed that Zayn was standing in his old room.

Zayn took a deep breath and slowly walked over to Niall. The blond looked super confused and Zayn almost laughed. he had no idea what he was doing either but he had to fix things right away.

“Is this … for me?!” Niall exclaimed, shocked.

Niall sat down on the bed with the tray and looked back at Zayn, still shocked himself.

“Yeah it is,” Zayn nodded. “I made it myself this morning for you. Do you mind if I sit down beside you?”

Niall nodded and moved over so Zayn could sit down as well on the bed. Zayn sat down and sighed softly; looking at the awful bedsheets Caroline had got for him when he was ten.

“Look, um…,” Zayn cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for always being so mean to you when you were around. I always thought you did all these awful stuff but it turned out that it was me all along. I was blaming and hating you when you weren’t even the reason. What I’m trying to say is; I’m sorry Niall. I’m sorry for everything.”

“I accept your apology,” Niall said.

“I completely understand if you’re mad at me and everything but I just want you to know that I am sorry and I hope that someday we can– wait, what?!” Zayn exclaimed, shocked and wondered if he had heard right.

“I accept your apology, you’re forgiven. We all make mistakes right?” Niall shrugged and stated eating some of the food off of the tray.

Zayn was still very shocked and he was so touched as well. He smiled at the blond and then said, “Um, you know the X Factor letter mum gave you? It’s actually fake, you made it into the auditions. Mum threw out the real letter and then made the fake letter that you read.”

Niall dropped his fork onto the tray and it made a bit bang. He didn’t even care about the sound though. His mouth dropped open and he rubbed his ears as if to mean that he heard right. He gasped and then said, “What?! That’s horrible and cruel! Do you know where’s my real letter now Zayn?”

Zayn nodded and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper out of his back pocket. He passed it over to Niall and Niall took it. He opened the letter and read it really quickly. He then grinned and looked up at Zayn.

“Thank you,” Niall smiled. “This means a lot Zayn, I really appreciate all of this.”

Zayn smiled right back and nodded. “So then are we all good now? Like you don’t hate me anymore?”

Niall laughed. “It’s all good Zayn. I never truly hated you but I don’t dislike you anymore, thanks again!”

Zayn grinned and his emotions got the better of him. He leaned in and gave Niall a huge bear hug. Niall absolutely loved hugs so he grinned and hugged Zayn just as tightly; enjoying the moment of closeness with his stepbrother.

Niall was finally good with his other stepbrother. It seemed like everything was finally falling into place for the little blond.

\- - -

After Zayn had left the room and Niall was finished eating his ton of food, he went back to packing all his stuff. He was practically done; he just had one more thing to add into the box. It was the picture frame on his bedside table.

Niall went to go pick it up but he dropped it on the hardwood floor. The picture frame opened and Niall noticed a piece of paper in there that he had never seen before in his life.

He grabbed the paper and opened it up. In big letters, the writing said “Bobby Horan’s Will”. Niall’s eyes grew wide open and he gasped loudly. How could that possibly be?! Caroline had said his dad never left a will for them or anything out of the sort.

Niall began reading the will and he realized that absolutely  _everything_  belonged to Niall and not Caroline. Oh really…?

Turns out that his dad really meant it when he said to never forget that picture frame. It was sort of sad at how long Niall took to finally realize it but better late than never.

\- - -

Caroline heard something coming from outside and she saw that her precious, expensive car was being towed away. She quickly ran outside of the house and yelled, “I can pay for that car ticket!”

She then stopped short when she saw Niall, Harry and Zayn all standing there and watching the car get towed away. She was so confused but then Niall turned around to Caroline and said, “Actually, I’m selling your car for some X Factor money Caroline.”

“You can’t just do that,” Caroline spat out, anger bubbling up inside of her just like it usually did.

“Actually, he can,” the police supervisor said. “Miss Flack, have you ever seen this before today?”

He held up the will of Bobby Horan and Caroline panicked inside. She remained calm on the outside and said, “I’ve  _never_  seen that before in my entire life! Is it fake or something? It can’t be legitimate.”

The police officer gave her a come-on and a yeah-right look and Caroline continued on keeping up her pathetic act. “I’ve  _never ever_  seen my dad husband’s hidden will before, it must be fake.”

“Ma’am I’m afraid you’re gong to have to come downtown with me to answer some questions,” the police officer told her.

Caroline cracked from her act and began running away from the police officer. Startled, the officer ran after her right away and tried to catch up to her which he eventually did.

Niall turned to Harry and Zayn and smiled softly. “I asked Paul if it’s okay and he said you guys can also live with him, I mean; if you want to. If you’d rather stay with Caroline I understand because she is your mother and–”

“NO,” Harry and Zayn both cried out.

“Can we come with you if that’s okay?” Harry asked nervously and bit down on his bottom lip, scared for an answer.

Niall laughed and put an arm around each of their shoulders. “That’s why I suggested it in the first place lads.”

\- - -

Paul was the new owner of Nando’s since Niall had passed it over to him – Niall did own everything after all! Nando’s was Paul’s then and he was taking really good care of everything.

Caroline had managed to pay off her deal by working at Nando’s without getting paid so she wouldn’t have to go to jail instead. Paul knew exactly how to handle her and he was going to make her life miserable for everything she had done to poor little Niall.

Caroline was absolutely terrified and frightened to death by Paul so she would definitely behave at Nando’s. She would have to or else Paul could simply tell the police and she would go to jail!

\- - -

“Ready Niall?” Liam smiled gently.

Both boys were sitting in Liam’s car. It was actually very early in the morning but they had a huge day ahead of them. They were both really excited yet really nervous at the same time as well.

“Ready,” Niall chirped.

Liam eyed Niall’s lips quickly and pecked them for a very quick second before pulling away right after. Niall blushed and groaned. He hit his boyfriend’s chest and Liam simply chuckled in return. He then pouted, “Liaaaaam!”

Liam merely chuckled once more and then started the car. They began driving off in the early sunrise that morning, heading for their destinies; heading for X Factor…

Where their journey would finally begin – together.


	17. Epilogue

~~Ziall... I mean... nevermind.~~

* * *

 

 

 

"I'm bored," Niall groaned, looking outside the window and sighing softly to himself, wishing that the X Factor drive would hurry itself up.

"I know Niall, me too," Liam agreed nervously. "But we're more than halfway there so just try and make it through a good half an hour or so, yeah? Think how much the drive will be worth it."

Niall couldn't help but grin and he chuckled, shaking his head a bit at the same time. Both boys were so excited to finally arrive to X Factor and their parents wouldn't stop them anymore - they were finally able to do what they wanted to do; together.

Niall and Liam got full support from Liam's entire family, - who knew about Liam and Niall by the way - Paul, Louis and Harry and even Zayn! They were all going to tune into X Factor when the time would come.

For the rest of the drive, Niall just kept having lovely dreams and thoughts about both of them making it through the auditions . . . then through boot camp . . . then through the weeks . . . then to the last week where one of them gets picked and their dreams will be made.

Neither of the boys were going to be mad at each other - no matter what happened. They both knew it meant a lot to both and they each had a backup plan anyways.

Niall had Nando's that he could always own with Paul since technically it was still Niall's. The blond always loved working there and it was a job he knew very well so he would do it correctly and never get tired of it.

Liam had football or owning his dad's shop - although he would much rather football over taking over his dad's business. Football gave him so much adrenaline and energy and it kept him fit - something he needed a lot of since he only had one kidney.

When Liam's family found out about Liam being gay and about Niall, they were quite shocked. At first they thought it was a joke but then Niall slowly slipped his arm around Liam's waist and Liam around Niall's shoulder; pecking his cheek softly. That's when his parents knew Liam was in fact not joking

They were surprised but they didn't react badly. They felt a bit awkward but Liam's mum was the first to welcome him, offering him a giant hug and telling him how great it is to meet him.

His dad then warmed up and did the exact same thing. Liam and Niall were both quite nervous at how his family would react but they weren't anymore. Liam's parents offered Niall to stay over for supper and Niall loving food, couldn't afford to say no.

The night actually went pretty well and the Paynes were shocked at how Niall finished his entire plate. Liam laughed and explained to them his love for food. His mum instantly liked him even more and gave him yet another hug. It was as if Niall was a part of the family.

"What are you thinking of Niall?" Liam asked after quite a few minutes of pure silence, wondering what was on the beautiful blond's mind.

"I'm thinking of the first night I met your parents and we told them we are gay and a couple," Niall admitted sheepishly, heat rushing to his face.

Liam saw that and chuckled, thinking his boyfriend was even more adorable than before. He smiled softly and thought back on it too. It was pretty nice that day but it only got better since. Karen loved Niall as if he was her own child and would always make him extra food - which Niall loved.

"Oh, about that, my mum packed some brownies for good luck at the auditions," Liam told Niall.

Niall dropped his mouth open and then grinned. "Why didn't you tell me before Payne?! Bring them out and let's eat it."

Liam laughed. "Um, Niall? One little problem."

"Yes?"

"I'm sort of busy driving at the moment," Liam explained, laughing at how Niall could show that he was blond at some moments.

"Oh," Niall blushed once more. "Well I meant after when we got there then. But Liam I'm starving so we better hurry it up on the road because my stomach's already growling. Speaking of which, are we almost there?"

"Actually...," Liam said rather slowly, dragging it out and making Niall groan in response. "We're here!"

Just as Liam finished his sentence, he parked into a random parking lot. Niall's eyes grew wide open and his heart began to spazz. They were there?! For real?! It wasn't just a wild dream that Niall was having?

Liam had already gotten out of the car and he chuckled when he saw the look of fright on little Nialler's face. He walked over to Niall's side and looked down at the blond, crossing his arms and smirking.

"You coming or are you planning on just staying here and missing the auditions?" Liam smirked once more.

Niall got out of his trance and slowly got out of the car; his legs shaking. He felt so nervous and he didn't understand how Liam wasn't all freaked out or even shaking in the slightest.

Liam held out a hand and Niall took it; his hand still shaking as well. Liam laughed as he felt it and squeezed it tightly, letting Niall know that everything was going to be okay and they were going to do great.

They walked over to the semi-long line - and they made sure they were early so it wasn't that long - and stood there, just waiting until the auditions would actually open.

It was around eight AM and the sun was finally coming out. Niall was still freaking out and he felt as if he couldn't breathe at all. Liam noticed right away and pulled Niall into a giant bear hug.

Niall hugged back but his heart was still pounding. He couldn't believe it and he felt as if it wasn't real. They were finally at X Factor.

\- - -

Hours had passed and the two boys were finally inside. They were so nervous and Niall was more nervous than Liam - having never tried out before on X Factor like a certain Liam Payne did.

Names were being called out and there was still quite a bit more names before either Liam or Niall would be going up on stage and sing their songs. The more the time passed by, the more nervous each of them were.

Liam was just sitting down on one of the chairs with everyone else but Niall was too shaky to even sit down. He was pacing back and forth, probably creating a hole through the floor.

"Niall," Liam chuckled. "You need to calm down, everything will be fine, and you're going to be amazing. Just relax, it's not good to be this stressed out mate, trust me."

Niall didn't feel amazing at all. He felt nervous, scared, confused, afraid, shocked and so many other emotions were just floating around in his head. So many awful thoughts ran through his mind and he was beginning to get a headache from all of them.

What scared Niall the most was that what if only one of them got through? It's not that Niall wouldn't be happy; he would miss his boyfriend - whether it was him that got through or Liam.

X Factor goes on for months and months and Niall had just found Liam not that long ago. After all the drama with Cher and everything happening at school; he was glad it was finally over and he just wanted to be with Liam as much as possible.

What if Liam - or Niall - met someone at X Factor and the other boyfriend couldn't stop them because they weren't there to tell them? What if the pressure was too much and they would cheat on one another?

Liam could tell Niall was panicking more and more and he frowned to himself. Liam understood that Niall had a lot of emotions and was a fragile as a little baby bunny but it hurt Liam to see his boyfriend like that.

"Niall, come here," Liam pat his lap gently, still having a little frown on his concerned face.

Niall bit his lip but walked over and sat down gently on Liam's lap. Liam slowly slipped his arms around Niall's waist and looked deeply into those mesmerizing blue eyes that made his heart pound.

"What's on your mind? You seem to be more nervous than before Nialler," Liam explained.

"Well what if one gets through and finds another guy and the other can't stop them? What if we cheat on each other? What if only one of us gets through and we have to be separated for months? I only just found you Liam and you just found me . . . I don't want us to be separating already," Niall said, whispering the last sentence.

Liam's face went soft and he held Niall tighter. Niall rested his head on Liam's chest and Liam sighed, gently rubbing his back. Liam had no idea those thoughts were going through the blond's mind and he felt sad for him.

"I'm sorry Nialler but none of that will happen to us, believe me. We would never cheat on each other and we can make long distance relationships work if that has to be the case," Liam explained softly, still rubbing Niall's back to comfort him.

Liam noticed that a lot of people in the room were giving them weird looks but Liam didn't care. He knew from the moment him and Niall began dating; there would be some people who didn't agree with it or who would stare. But to be honest? Liam didn't care.

Let them stare if they wanted to - let them know that both boys were happy with each other and that they were gay. It didn't bug Liam that people would stare; at least both of them were happy and they were together. And that was all that mattered for them.

"Thanks Liam," Niall sighed, slowly leaning off his chest and looking into Liam's beautiful brown eyes. "I needed to hear that even though I sort of already knew it myself..."

Liam shook his head and laughed; Niall was too adorable! He smiled and quickly gave Niall a gentle peck on the lips before he pulled away and smiled, ruffling the soft blond hair.

Niall pouted and said, "Why did you pull away? I didn't even have time to kiss you back!"

"That's the point," Liam smirked, joking around. "It's more fun that way and I like seeing your reaction when I tease you."

"You," Niall poked his nose, "are plain mean and a bully."

Liam scrunched his face up and wiggled his nose, causing Niall to laugh that loud and adorable laugh. Niall went to go poke his boyfriend's nose again but Liam stopped it just in time.

"Don't poke my abnormally large nose," Liam frowned, getting a bit insecure about his nose.

Liam had never liked his nose and when he got made fun of it; it didn't help him at all. His friends would always tease him and about it and they would call it 'Ginorminose' a bunch of times. Liam hated it and tried to brush it off his shoulders but it was hard.

"Your nose is perfect Liam," Niall said gently, pecking the nose. "Don't ever think it's not, I love it."

Liam smiled and looked into those adorable blue eyes. He had forgotten that there were other people in the room and he felt as if it was just him and Niall. His grip around Niall slowly loosened itself and he found his eyes sliding down to those rosy lips that he always loved kissing.

Liam slowly leaned in and pressed his lips against Niall's; feeling the familiar warmth and gentle tingles against his own lips. Niall smiled a bit into the kiss before cupping Liam's jaw and responding quickly. Their lips matched one another and the kiss was getting pretty heated.

Liam had just gently licked Niall's bottom lip when a voice called out, "Liam Payne?"

Liam pulled away and looked over, seeing the man who had called his name. He cleared his throat and said, "Yes?"

"You're on in a few minutes, come backstage," the man replied and nodded his head in a different direction, waiting for him.

Niall got off Liam's lap and Liam got up. Suddenly, the nerves hit him; he felt nervous, sweaty and afraid. He felt paralyzed and Niall could tell how he felt right away.

Niall hugged him tightly and quickly pecked his lips, uttering a few words he had never said before. "I love you."

And with that, Niall pushed a very shocked Liam towards the man and the man began walking to the backstage; leaving Liam no choice but to follow even though he felt like running back to Niall and confessing his feelings towards the blond as well and returning the 'I love you'.

\- - -

"It's nice to see you back Liam," Dermot, the host, said and smiled once Liam walked over.

"Thanks Dermot," Liam grinned nervously. "It's nice to be back!"

Dermot could tell that Liam was pretty nervous so he helped calm down the younger boy's nerves and made him feel at ease. Liam smiled thankfully and he felt much better.

"Liam Payne, you're up," a voice said.

Liam took a deep breath before grabbing the microphone a guy gave him and went on stage. He walked over and saw how many people were in the crowd - which was a lot - but he focused on the judges: Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and the special guest-judge.

Simon half-grinned-half-smirked when he recognized who the boy was and they exchanged a few words; thinking back on when Liam first tried out back when he was just fourteen.

Simon had told him that even though he had an amazing voice; he just wasn't ready yet and needed more time. Apparently Simon thought he also needed to finish his GCSEs before going any further so Simon had told Liam that he should come back in two years.

And there Liam was, standing on the X Factor audition stage two years later, ready to try and get through once again. Liam was pretty confident and he knew the song he chose really suit his vocal chords so luck was on his side that very fine day.

"Go on," Simon said, nodding at Liam.

The very famous song, Cry Me A River by Michael Bublé, began to play throughout the entire venue and Liam took one last, final deep breath before his part came and he began singing.

For the song, it required a major set of pipes and Liam had been practicing for forever - especially during shower time. He practiced so much that his parents even knew the lyrics to the song!

His dad Geoff never thought that Liam was trying to get the song just right for X Factor so it didn't bother him. Luckily for Liam, his dad never found out the real reason for singing it around the house so Liam got to practice as much as he wanted.

The crowd kept on cheering as Liam kept on singing and hitting the high notes perfectly. Liam tried hard not to smile and concentrated on singing but hearing all the cheers made him much more confident and he honestly thought that he could make it through.

Liam didn't look at the crowd once while he was singing because he knew there were a lot of people and he didn't want to be shocked and stopped singing during the middle of his song so he just kept on continuing.

He had no idea when they would cut him off or not so he kept on singing his little heart out and he was surprised when he got to actually sing his entire song without any of the judges cutting him off.

Once he had finished, his lungs felt breathless and Liam felt like he had issues breathing a bit. He held onto the microphone but he let the hand drop down to his side and he took one large breath.

Liam finally looked at the crowd and his eyes went huge. Practically everyone in the crowd was standing up and cheering as loud as possible. Liam Payne had just received a standing ovation.

He finally let out his huge grin and then looked back at the judges to see some of them were standing up as well. He felt ecstatic and he felt as if he couldn't even believe his eyes. It felt like an amazing dream.

The judges sat back down and they all gave him some feedback. Simon said he knew that Liam was ready now and he needed to wait the two years. He got all four yeses and that meant he was through! Liam had made it passed the auditions!

He grinned and thanked them before walking off stage. The energy inside of him at that very moment was unbelievable and he felt as if he could never stop smiling. He wanted to jump around like a little kid on Christmas but he knew that was too immature - even for him.

Instead Liam just kept on smiling like an idiot and he smiled to the point where his whole face began to hurt but he didn't care - he got in, he passed the auditions!

"How was it?" Dermot asked once Liam was backstage.

"I got through," Liam grinned, letting out one little jump for joy.

Dermot grinned and they exchanged a victory hug. Liam was still smiling like crazy and Dermot laughed once he realized that Liam couldn't stop smiling even if he wanted to.

"Well congratulations Liam, I knew you could do it. It was nice seeing you again," Dermot said and smiled.

Liam nodded and they exchanged their goodbyes before Liam was brought to another room with the people already through. Liam couldn't go back to tell Niall, so he took his phone out, and texted Niall the amazing news.

\- - -

Niall had just received a text. It had been a few minutes since Liam went for his audition so he thought maybe it was him, texting the good news or the bad news.

He took out his phone and saw it was in fact a message from his boyfriend, Liam Payne.

**Liam: I GOT THROUGH!!!!**

Niall gasped and grinned, immediately dipping his head forward in concentration and texting back as quick as he could.

He was almost done the message too but then a voice interrupted his speedy texting. "Niall Horan?"

Niall's head popped up nervously and he said, "Yes...?"

"Come backstage, you're going on in a few," the same voice who spoke to Liam had said.

Niall locked his phone and put it in his back pocket before nervously walking over to the man. The man began walking backstage and Niall followed, feeling guilty that he didn't finish his text to Liam who was probably waiting for a reply.

\- - -

Niall was welcomed by a man named Dermot. They both introduced themselves to each other and did a bit of small talk to make the time go by. Dermot was very sweet and also helped Niall with his nervousness.

Niall felt so sick and he wanted to pass out right then and there. He knew that would be the point whether Niall and Liam would stay in touch or they would slowly fade apart from each other. It was quite a scary thought for Niall.

"Niall, go on stage. They're ready for you," another voice said.

Niall's heart pounded but he had to keep moving and keep reassuring himself. He grabbed a microphone with his clammy hands and slowly walked on stage as slow as possible.

Once he got in the middle, he notice the huge crowd and that didn't help his nervous problem. He felt more scared but he took small deep breaths and focused on answering the judges' questions.

After he had finished answering them all and immediately getting approval from Louis because Niall was Irish, his song began to play. The sound system was very loud and Niall could feel his ears ringing. He sighed before taking a deep breath and began singing.

Niall had chosen the song So Sick by Ne-Yo for a lot of reasons. It was a cute song that would swoon for the girls and it showed that he wasn't afraid to show his emotions. It also made his voice sound nice and Niall also chose it because Niall was a huge Justin Bieber fan and so he wanted to pick a song that Justin had covered himself as well.

Unfortunately for Niall, the only time he could really practice was in the shower and sometimes at Nando's. He didn't have as much practice time as Liam but he had to make do with what he had.

After the first chorus was done, Simon stopped him. Niall stopped singing and gulped. He felt so nervous and scared that he did wrong - it was usually never good when Simon would cut someone off while they were singing.

Simon began going off about it was sloppy and needed more work and that he just didn't see it. He went on about that for a good two minutes before confirming his answer. It was a no.

That was the first 'no' that Niall had got. He felt a little bit sad but he wasn't discouraged yet. He knew there was still hope for him because there were still three more judges.

Cheryl then brought his hopes down even more and told him it was a no for her as well. Niall began feeling even more depressed and his hopes dropped down. He felt really sad but he kept a little smile on his face, trying to be brave.

Louis then quickly spoke and said it was a yes so it was all on the guest-judge by then. It took quite a while and a lot of minutes by explaining how young Niall was and the guest-judge took her time on the decision.

In the end; it was a yes. Niall jumped for joy and he grinned. He couldn't even believe it and he thought his ears were playing tricks on him. He was so excited and that's when the guest-judge told him to not let her down.

Niall promised her and then left. He went off stage and was lead out to another door where all the other people had also got yeses. Niall got in and he was looking around for Liam.

There were surprisingly quite a lot of people in there so it was sort of hard for Niall to find him. He kept looking and finally, he saw the familiar brown hair that he recognized all too well.

Niall ran over and attacked him as he yelled out, "LIAM!"

Liam turned around shocked and he stopped once he saw Niall. He grinned and then hugged Niall as tight as physically possible. The blond grinned and hugged him back, heat rushing to his face as they made contact.

Niall slowly pulled away after a few seconds and looked at Liam. He smiled and said, "Sorry I never replied. I was texting you back when they called me up. Sorry to keep you waiting Li."

"No it's fine I'm just glad to see you! I knew you were going to make it," Liam grinned.

Niall hugged him all over again and they were both grinning like idiots. Liam slowly slipped his arms down to Niall's waist and Niall gently pulled away, cupping Liam's jaw once more.

He slowly leaned in and pressed his gentle lips against Liam's, kissing each other deeply once more. Liam wasted no time and slowly slipped his tongue inside Niall's mouth, exploring and fighting for dominance with their tongues.

Once Liam won, Niall slowly pulled away and rested his forehead against Liam's; breathing lightly. Liam blushed and smiled before whispering, "And Niall? I love you too..."

\- - -

Everything was passing by so fast. The boys had told their friends and family about it and all of them were so happy and proud of the both of them.

Time went by at the speed of lightning and boot camp was already done. So much was happening and boot camp was fun - but it was also torture! The amount of practices to get their voices perfect was hard and it killed their lungs at some times.

The people even tried to put Niall on a diet because of his love for food but Niall refused. He wouldn't stop eating just for a competition. He wanted to sing so badly but nothing came between him and his food - okay, well maybe Liam came between it but that was it.

Either way, boot camp was finally done and they were back on X Factor in a different location that time. They were all split into very large amounts of groups and it was time to decide who was going through to the Judge's house.

Liam and Niall had been in the same large group of people so they would know if one of them made it or not. Unfortunately, the names went by the alphabetical order of the last names so Niall and Liam weren't standing beside each other.

Everyone was so nervous and the judges were all just staring at them; making it more intense than it needed to be. But that's how the shows worked - they added extra silences to make the viewers and the people there as well scared shitless.

"So...," Simon slowly began, looking at each and every one of the contestants. "Here are the people going through..."

\- - -

"Paul, hurry up! You're going to miss it," Harry called out from the living room.

"I'm coming," Paul huffed. "Do you guys want popcorn or what? I can't do two things at the same time!"

Zayn laughed and shook his head quietly to himself. Paul was a hilarious guy - and seriously cool for letting Zayn and Harry staying over at Paul's house. Harry had invited Louis - with the permission of Paul, of course - to watch the X Factor auditions that night.

Yes, the tape had finally come out. All the boys knew that both of them had gotten through already but they wanted to see it for themselves. They were so excited to watch it.

Paul came back with popcorn and gave it to Zayn. Paul sat down in his recliner and watched the TV which was just about to start showing X Factor. Even Paul was excited; he always knew Niall had an amazing voice.

Louis was sitting at the edge of the couch and Harry was cuddled up to him. They legs were tangled with each other and Harry had his head nestled in Louis' cologne-scented neck.

Paul said it was okay as long as they didn't make out in front of them. Snogging was okay but not full-on making out - that's where Paul drew his limit inside of his house.

Commercials were still going off when suddenly, the doorbell rang. Zayn got up and went to the door. He opened it up to see Cher there. Zayn was taken aback and he frowned - how did Cher even find out where they were?!

"What?" Zayn asked.

"Hey Zayn," Cher flirted, twirling her hair and batting her eyelashes. "Can I come in?"

"No, you can stay here and speak," Zayn replied, wanting her to leave.

"Well," Cher said, running a hand up Zayn's arm a bit. "You're still single right? You're not dating anyone?"

"I'd never go out with you Cher," Zayn said in a deep voice. "You hurt my little brother Niall. How cruel can you be? He did nothing to you."

Cher glared at him and her nice act was off. "He stole my boyfriend! I know they're dating now and that's the dumbest thing ever but whatever! And since when do you like Niall?! You helped me with my plan you know."

Zayn sighed, feeling guilt pour into him. "I know I did and I regret it. But I said sorry and helped Niall out as well and we're friends now. I made peace with it but you didn't. You never will, you'll always be the evil cheerleader in high school who was known for bullying others."

Cher rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Fine, whatever. Where's that boy who apparently loves me? Lewis was his name?"

"First of all it's Louis and sorry but he's taken," Zayn replied nonchalantly.

"Fine then I'll just go see Harry and-"

"That's who Louis is dating," Zayn interrupted.

Cher's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Zayn smirked and grabbed the door, getting ready to close on her shocked snotty little face.

"Yeah, no one wants to be with you. Now go home and think about how many people you've bullied and how many people you've hurt. You're a bully Cher Lloyd and you always will be. Goodbye."

Zayn shut the door on her face and locked it. Smirking with triumph and glory; Zayn walked away and went back to the couch. He sat down just in time for X Factor to start playing its theme song.

\- - -

Simon had been calling random names for what seemed like the longest time. Neither Liam nor Niall had been one of those random names yet. It hurt them but they still had hope; they knew there was still hope.

"Aiden Grimshaw."

A boy danced and was so excited before he ran off stage with pure joy. Niall sighed and he started to wonder if either of them were ever going to get picked. It seemed like a longshot but they had already come so far.

"Liam Payne."

Niall froze and turned to look down at Liam. It seemed like Liam had the same reaction but then the emotions hit him and he bit down hard on his lip, clutching his hair and slowly taking random steps to nowhere.

He had to go off stage and Niall was left there with a lot more men. He began freaking out and the worst came into his mind: what if Niall's name wasn't called and he had to go home?

Sure Niall would find a job - Nando's was always an option - but he just didn't want to leave Liam. Niall might have seemed clingy but he was; he was very clingy. Liam didn't mind and actually, Liam was quite clingy as well - they truly were the perfect couple.

"Mary Byrne."

A woman screamed of joy and ran off stage as quickly as she could. Niall bit down on his lip and he felt tears gather into his eyes. He wasn't ready to leave, he wanted to stay and be with Liam.

"Rebecca Ferguson."

Yet another girl, she grinned and hopped up and down before quietly leaving the stage as well. Simon looked over at all the rest and sighed before saying, "This will be the last person to go through. The last person is..."

Everyone was silent and everything had just become too real. Niall's eyes were huge and his chest kept rising and falling as quick as possible. He felt sweat gather onto his forehead and he was so nervous.

"Niall Horan."

Niall let out a gasp and his eyes grew even wider. He jumped up in the air for joy and people were shocked at how high he could jump. He was so shocked and overwhelmed. He quickly got off stage to not cry in front of everyone.

Niall and Liam had both made it through to the Judge's house.

\- - -

There were just a few more minutes left before the X Factor would end its first episode and all four guys couldn't have been more proud. Liam and Niall both did amazing at their performances!

They were all so nervous when Katy Perry took her sweet little time about it for Niall but once she said yes; all the boys howled and cheered as loud as they possibly could.

The last few minutes showed all the people who had gotten through and how they were running and hugging each other. Zayn, Harry, Louis and Paul were all trying to see if they could Liam and Niall through the crowd.

Louis squinted and noticed two very familiar figures with very familiar hair who were kissing each other. Liam had his arms around Niall's waist and the blond was cupping Liam's face gently. They were kissing the life out of each other and Louis laughed before he pointed it out to the others

Zayn couldn't believe his eyes and he immediately grabbed his phone. They were all laughing and Zayn called Niall, putting it on speaker phone. It reached to the voicemail and after the beep; Zayn, Louis and Harry all took a deep breath before yelling out the same thing at the exact same time.

"YOU GUYS ARE SNOGGING ON THE NATIONAL TELLY!"

\- - -

It had been a few minutes and Niall still hadn't come out yet. Liam was nervous and he felt as if he couldn't concentrate. Everyone who was in the same room as him were buzzing and ecstatic but all Liam could think about was his handsome blond boyfriend.

He didn't want to be separated from Niall already. Liam felt as if it almost wasn't worth staying in X Factor if Niall hadn't made it through. Even though Niall couldn't practice as much; he worked just as hard - if not more than Liam actually.

As much as Liam hated to admit it; he started losing hope. It's not that he wanted to stop believing but it was happening anyways. Liam sighed sadly and wondered how things were going to work when he suddenly heard footsteps.

Liam looked up and saw Niall was running towards him. Liam's mouth dropped open and he let out a huge grin as Niall kept on running. Niall grinned and literally tackled Liam to the ground.

Liam laughed and wrapped his arms around Niall; not even caring if he felt pain from the fall or if people were staring at them. He was just so happy and excited and his mind couldn't wrap around the idea that they had both actually made it!

"Liam Liam Liam guess what!?" Niall grinned, looking down at Liam's face which was only a few inches away from his.

Niall was still on top of Liam and he could feel all of Niall's weight - which wasn't very much at all - on his body. He chuckled and thought it was cute that Niall was asking even though Liam knew that he had made it through since he was in the room as well.

"What Nialler?" Liam smiled, playing along.

"I GOT THROUGH!"

Liam gasped and ruffled Niall's hair, grinning once again. He held Niall even closer and Niall blushed and realized in which position they were. Neither of the boys minded but they were both a bit embarrassed.

Niall got up and then helped Liam up. Once Liam was standing, he hugged Niall tightly and buried his face in the crook of the blond's neck. He breathed lightly against the cool skin and whispered, "I'm so glad you made it Niall. I knew you would. X Factor is nothing with you, just like I am nothing without you."

Niall felt a bit of tears in his eyes from the heart-felt sentence his boyfriend had just told him. Liam smiled and pulled his face away to look at Niall and instantly frowned when he saw the look on Niall's face.

Niall let a tear fall out and Liam frowned even more. One hand ran up to his face and he gently wiped the tear away with his thumb, then pecking softly where the tear stain once was.

"Oh Nialler, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry," Liam sighed.

"No it's not your fault, I'm just so overwhelmed from everything and I'm very emotional," Niall smiled sheepishly, blushing a bit.

Liam smiled and pecked his boyfriend's lips gently. A simple peck turned into a very passionate kiss in just a matter of seconds. Niall had been gently grazing Liam's bottom lip with his lips when they heard a voice which immediately separated them from their heated kiss.

"Follow me contestants! It's time to head out so we can discuss the judge's houses," Simon said to everyone.

Niall froze and closed his eyes; taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself down. Liam noticed and frowned, slowly rubbing his gentle hands up and down Niall's arms to comfort him.

"Hey, we're going to be okay, yeah?" Liam smiled encouragingly. "Let's go, I'll always be by your side and we're doing this together. Let's just have some fun and we still have options after. Don't be upset Niall, I love you."

Niall smiled and squeezed Liam's hand gently. He blushed a bit as he whispered, "I love you too Liam."

And with that, they walked out with their hands intertwined with each other. Liam and Niall were both starting off their huge journey and there was going to be a lot of ups and downs on the way.

But both of them knew they were going to survive it all and they were going to be okay - because no matter what happens, they'll always have the most important thing in their lives: each other.


End file.
